


Kitty's Daminette December 2019

by littlekittykanny



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Daminette December 2019, Don't like, Don't read, I'll add tags as I feel necessary, I'm having fun and no one can stop me now, MariBat, Multi, This is Daminette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 41,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlekittykanny/pseuds/littlekittykanny
Summary: 1st Daminette December Prompt Challenge! All the prompts will be for the pairing Daminette.
Relationships: Daminette - Relationship, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 169
Kudos: 1377





	1. Day 1: Just Friends- College AU

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time participating in a prompt month or anything of the sort! I really hope you enjoy my work!

Damian had thought this project was going to be a _nightmare_. 

He hadn't understood why he was required to take this history class in the first place. Stupid liberal arts requirements! History had nothing to do with his business degree. Damian had already learned all about the ancient civilizations of the world, and he probably knew more than the professor considering his grandfather had lived through several of them. 

And to make matters worse, this insipid moron of a professor had forced them to do PARTNER projects.

Damian had been forced to work with another individual (who he had been sure would probably slack off) on a paper and presentation. His partner to be? Was not even present when the assignment was given! His professor had assigned him to work with a student who was currently ill, and who seemed to be sick often. 

The professor had scolded him for trying to get a new partner, saying that Miss Dupain-Cheng had a compromised immune system and always did her work on time. She had then told Damian that he was lucky she didn't just let one of the slackers work with him. She had wanted Damian to work with Miss Dupain-Cheng so she wouldn’t have to do all the work by herself.

So, Damian had emailed his partner after class ended. Surprisingly, she had immediately responded to him, asking if researching Ancient Greece would be an acceptable choice to him. They had emailed three times before his partner, Marinette, sent him her phone number. She had told Damian to text her with any questions at any time.

They had decided to go with Ancient Greece, and Damian had made a mental note to talk to Aunt Diana. He had figured she would probably have interesting information to add to their presentation. Damian really hadn't been expecting Marinette to do anything until he opened his email the next morning. 

He had been greeted by a whole-ass outline with sources. Marinette had asked him to look at it and edit what he did and didn't want in the paper. She had mentioned the sources were only preliminary ones, and that she'd get to work on more once they'd agreed on the outline. 

Damian's experience with having Marinette as a research partner had only gotten better as time passed. He still hadn't met his partner face-to- face, but she was brilliant. Together they'd managed to get a fully formed outline, all their sources, and approval from their professor to go ahead and complete the paper and project a week before the deadline to pick a project. 

Marinette was an extremely hard worker for someone he had yet to meet. She never failed to answer her texts or emails within a reasonable amount of time. She always listened to Damian's concerns, and they compromised. She did as much research as he did. Marinette had also offered to do the entire slide show if Damian would speak for most of it. 

She was also incredibly intelligent. Her work was as flawless as a human being can get. While he did have to correct a lot of silly errors (as she pointed out, typing at 3 am doesn't always turn out the way you thought it did at the time), Marinette was a talented writer. She incorporated her sources well, and most of her citations were correct. She was determined to get a good grade, and Damian was thankful for it. It made her all that more tolerable as a research partner. 

That wasn't the only thing that made Marinette tolerable. 

She responded to him with sarcasm, GIFs, and emojis. She poked fun at him. She texted him about random things that happened during her day. She sent him pictures of animals she happened across on her way to grab more tissues/soup/juice/etc (which he half-enjoyed, half-despised because he worried about her until she got back to her dorm). She complained to him about being sick, and her ribs burning from all the coughing she was doing. 

Like a normal person does with their normal friends. 

Marinette didn't seem phased at all by the fact he was Damian Wayne. Marinette treated him the same way his brothers did. She wasn't trying to impress him. She wasn't afraid to offend him. She wasn't trying to gain anything from him aside from an A on this project (reasonable considering the whole partners thing). Marinette treated him like a friend, good natured ribbing about his resting bitch face and all.

Damian quite enjoyed the fact Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not afraid of him. 

Which is why Damian had agreed to speak for most of the presentation and even brought it up to their professor. She'd agreed in order to let the pair have a contingency plan in case Marinette couldn't speak during their presentation. Damian hoped her upper respiratory infection cleared up before then. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't hoping for her speedy recovery so she could be in class with him. In fact, even if she could speak, Damian would probably insist that she remain at home in bed. 

He hoped Marinette got better soon mostly because her coughing had caused his chest to ache in sympathy. When he'd called her to clarify some information on a slide, the woman on the other end had barely managed to get words out in between the constant, painful sounding coughs that Damian could guarantee hurt like hell. That's when he learned she'd had strep throat and a sinus infection that led to bronchitis. She'd been to the doctor six times in the past month, but was having a hard time shaking it. 

Damian had been fully prepared to do this on his own if it meant she was resting. She'd already put in more work than he'd been expecting (despite being so ill!), and Damian was no longer an impulsive, angry ten year old who would have held her sickness against her. While he really had wanted to meet the charming woman who sent him pictures of puppies she met on her way to the drug store, Damian had also wanted her to take care of herself. 

Which was apparently the **exact** opposite of Marinette's plans. 

The day they presented, Damian was greeted by a pale woman wearing a cream wool sweater and black slacks he hadn't seen before. She had an adorable heart-shaped face, cute freckles splashed across her nose, and the biggest grey eyes Damian had ever seen. She had a weak grin on her pale lips and was shivering ever so slightly. 

Her black hair was pulled up into a bun, and she was holding tight onto a baggy. A baggy that Damian noticed had cough drops in it. He began piecing the clues together, and his expression darkened. Damian's suspicions were only confirmed after the cute woman gave a painfully wet sounding cough. His sharp green eyes locked onto hers before saying, "Marinette, what are you doing here?"

Marinette smiled weakly at him as she choked that she had to show up or it wouldn't count. She coughed a few times more, each breath sounding painful. Once she’d stopped, Damian immediately sequestered her to the podium, allowing her to operate the computer and lean on something should she feel unsteady. He wasn't about to let her hurt herself just for this stupid assignment. He was about ready to lecture her when the professor walked in and asked if they were volunteering to go first.

Damian said yes, leaving no room for argument on Marinette’s side. As Marinette pulled up their slide show, Damian talked with their professor. He was worried Marinette would pass out if she had to stay after their presentation, but he also didn't want to send her home by herself. He was worried someone would try to get at her or that she'd collapse on the sidewalk on her way home. Damian asked to be excused in order to escort her home after. 

Their professor agreed and told him to take care of her.

Marinette did her best (both Damian and the professor would give her credit for that) to speak in between coughing fits and drinks of water. He was just thankful that she didn't pass out nor did she mess up any of her cues. By the end, though, he could tell Marinette was reaching her limit, eyelids and posture beginning to droop. Damian made sure to answer all the Q&As at the end, even if Marinette was directly asked. By the end of it, Damian had both of their backpacks and an arm wrapped around her.

Damian led her out of the classroom once the professor excused them. He kept a tight hold on Marinette, who was swaying a little as she walked.

“Marinette, you know Dr. Lender would have let you reschedule the presentation, right?” he asked, slightly exasperated. “You shouldn’t have come today.”

“My roommate is visiting family, and I got lonely. Besides, there’s no food in my dorm, so I needed to go to the corner store,” she replied, pausing several times to cough.

Damian handed her some tissues from his pocket and winced as she brought up phlegm. He then made an executive decision. He couldn’t let her go to the store alone, and Damian most certainly wasn’t about to leave her alone in her dorm. Since he wasn’t allowed to stay in the girls’ dorms overnight, Damian only had one option left. He could only hope that he wouldn’t regret this decision.

“Nettie, we’re friends...right?” he asked, nervous outside the mask for the first time in a while.

He really hoped she said yes. Damian was actually fond of Marinette. He’d found himself enjoying the past several weeks of communication with her. She was smart, witty, and a hard worker. She’d been a great partner. She was even better to converse with. He would miss her random animal texts...honestly he’d miss her if she decided she no longer wanted to speak with him now that the project was over.

“Yeah! We’re friends, Dami. You’ve been really nice about all of this,” Marinette coughed, flailing her arm weakly to gesture to herself. “I’ve really enjoyed working with you. You’re fun to talk to. I still have to meet your animals too! I’ve never pet a cow before.”

Damian felt the knot in his stomach unravel a little. Good, she did like him. Apparently she really wanted to meet Batcow too. Damian guessed Jon’s stupid nickname of Bessie would actually come in handy. He couldn’t exactly tell Marinette that the cow’s name was Batcow, but he was excited to introduce her to his animals.

“Well, since you’re alone, and since I can’t stay at the girls’ dorms, would you like to come over to my place? We have more than enough food, and you won’t be lonely,” he suggested. “You can meet Bessie, Titus, and Alfred the cat. We can grab your things.”

Marinette smiled brightly and Damian was thankful he drove a car to school that day...

Even if his brothers later bothered him about the young woman napping on their couch with Titus and Alfred the cat. Which of course they did, but thankfully Alfred was there to have his back.

However, Damian did miss the smile on Alfred’s face as he informed the older birds that Miss Marinette was ‘just Damian’s friend’.

Alfred knew. She was just Master Damian’s friend... at least for now.


	2. Day 2: Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blind Date with no particular AU. This does have Gaydrien in it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is up late, I haven't been feeling well. I also have a final paper due tomorrow, so I'm a little stressed.

Damian was going to kill Jon.

Clark would never find his body. Neither would Bruce. It would be the perfect crime.

From the looks of it, the girl sitting across from him had very similar ideas from the way she was glaring at the boy sitting next to her. The blond was chattering away, bright green eyes fixed on Jon. The sappy love-struck look on the blond’s face made Damian nauseous, but the equally sappy look on Jon’s face made him actually gag.

Jon had come barreling into the manor earlier that very day, talking a mile a minute about how the cute boy he’d been talking to online was in the states. Apparently he’d asked Jon out on a date, which the boy was thrilled about. However, this cute boy had mentioned a friend of his would be tagging along and wondered if Jon had any friends who were available to come with. Why Damian was the first person to come to Jon’s mind, he’d never know, but somehow his best friend had managed to rope him into going on a blind date with the cute boy’s best friend.

Which lead to his current predicament of Jon and...Adrien (or at least that’s the name Jon had been calling him)...cooing at each other over something Damian couldn’t bring himself to care about. His blind date also didn’t seem overly fond of her position either. She had a disgruntled look on her face, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the table. Neither love bird seemed aware of how unhappy the pair were with all of this. They only had eyes for each other, even in the crowded mall food court.

At the very least his blind date was interesting.

She was a petite woman of Asian descent. Her eyes were a gorgeous grey that seemed to give off light, in an oddly similar way to the Kryptonians he knew. She had a cute button nose, petal pink lips, and freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. Her silky looking black hair was pulled up into a bun that was secured by a red ribbon. She wore black studded earrings, but no other jewelry. She was wearing a pastel pink halter-top dress that showed off the lean muscles of her arms and black ballet flats. Objectively, she was a very attractive girl, thought that wasn't what had caught his attention.

What had caught his attention was the fact she was heckling her best friend in Cantonese. Damian had joined in, and the pair were gleefully insulting their friends. Turns out that she fully agreed they were disgustingly cute with each other. They continued to do this until they noticed their best friends staring at them.

Jon's date looked confused before saying, "I thought you only knew French and English? I'd say you're speaking Chinese, but you don't know any Chinese. Besides some of the words aren't right-"

“No, I don’t know Mandarin Chinese. I can speak fluent Cantonese Chinese,” she replied, looking at her fingernails. “Why do you think I was so nervous about seeing my Great Uncle? He's from the side of the family that speaks Mandarin only. My grandparents lived in Hong Kong, so they spoke mainly Cantonese. My maman knows a little Mandarin, but we're both working on learning.”

Damian snickered at the shocked face Adrien gave Marinette.

“How could you?! Why didn’t you tell me that! I thought we were best friends!” Adrien whined. “Jon, she’s being mean again!”

“Well best friends shouldn’t be forced to go on blind dates they didn’t want to attend,” Damian decided to jump in. “You two are disgustingly sappy, and you’ve been ignoring us! Jon, you didn’t even introduce us. I know you were raised in a barn, but really, I thought Lois taught you better manners.”

Jon blushed scarlet at that.

“Shoot, knew I was forgetting something,” he mumbled. “Damian, this is Adrien Agreste. The Parisian boy I’ve been talking to online? He’s really good at Ultimate Mecha Strike III. We’ve been playing online together, and that’s how we first started talking. Adrien, this is Damian Wayne. He’s been my best friend since we were ten. His father and my pa are really good friends.”

Damian shook hands with Adrien before staring holes into the boy. Adrien gulped in response before looking beside him to see an equally peeved face staring at him.

“Uh Jon...this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s my best friend, and the only person who knows I’m gay back home. She’s really talented and can kick my ass any day at Ultimate Mecha Strike III,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Mari, this is Jonathan Kent. He’s the guy-”

“You’ve been ditching me to play UMS III with,” Marinette finished, grey eyes narrowed at Jon. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

If looks could kill, Damian was certain Jon would be dead…not that farm boy realized it.

Jon had gone on to chat with Marinette about how it was so nice to meet her, not seeing the pure fury hidden behind that pretty smile. It entranced Damian in a way he couldn’t explain, igniting a sense of curiosity that he needed to be satiated. Despite her sweet appearance, Damian had a feeling there was a lot more to her than meets the eye. When Jon and Adrien ditched them to go into a bookstore, Damian took the opportunity to sate his curiosity.

He followed her into a pet store (odd considering that she didn’t mention having any pets) and waited until she was wrapped up in cooing over a kitten. 

“You like animals?” Damian asked innocently, watching the kitten bat at her hands.

“I do,” Marinette responded curtly. “Why’d you follow me in here?”

“Simple, whether either of us wanted to attend this date or not, it’s still a date. My very proper English butler slash grandfather would have my head if I wasn’t a gentleman and accompanied you until the date was over,” Damian shrugged. “Besides, what else was I supposed to do? Follow the love birds? I think I’d vomit for real this time...and I had fun talking to you.”

“They are very sappy and sweet with one another,” she sighed. “I'm sorry if I seem rude...I’m just not sure about all of this.”

“You and me being forced on a blind date or Jon and Adrien going on a date?”

“Jon and Adrien. You’ve been nothing but polite to me since you got here, even though it’s clear you’d rather be somewhere else. We’ll talk about that butler slash grandfather thing in a minute, but this is the first time Adrien’s met Jon face to face...Adrien’s a romantic at heart. He wants to see the positives in everything and everyone…”

“He’s easy to take advantage of, and that bothers you.”

“Duh, he’s still my best friend. Optimistic lovesick idiot or not, I care a lot about Adrien. Too many people he should have been able to trust have hurt him. I don’t want that to happen again if I can help it. He’s not perfect, but he deserves to have a chance to be happy too. He really tries his best, and once you have his heart, you have it for life...even if you didn’t deserve a place in it.”

Damian fell silent, joining Marinette at the kitten’s cage. He absent-mindedly began to play with the pitch black kitten as well. Well, that was something rather telling about Miss Dupain-Cheng. True, she’d looked very irritated with the whole situation, but she also genuinely cared about the blond boy currently running around with his best friend. He could see the hesitance and worry in her face...similar to what he’d been feeling with Jon.

Damian...well Damian was fond of Jon. He thought the other boy was an idiot most of the time, but Jon had stuck by him even when he was an unbearable bastard. He knew he could count on the half-Kryptonian to always have his back, and Damian repaid him the best he could by having his back. He’d been worried that Jon was meeting a stranger from the internet, even if Jon gushed about how he knew all this guy’s favorite things.

That stuff could all be faked. Jon could have been catfished by someone, and who would be there to pick up the pieces if he got his heart broken? It could have been a plot by their enemies. The person could have had kryptonite and then Jon would be in trouble. There were so many things Damian had thought would go wrong. It seemed Marinette had thought about the same things with Adrien.

Damian was snapped out of his thoughts as an employee and what looked to be a vet made their way over to them. He noticed how Marinette had tightened up like a bowstring. She had an angry expression on her face, and Damian couldn’t figure out why until she started to speak.

“Why can’t you just take her to a shelter? She’s just a kitten!” Marinette snapped. “She deserves to live as much as you or me!”

“Miss, black cats don’t sell nor do they get adopted. I think we’re doing the nicest thing we can do. That way she won’t have to spend her entire life in a cage,” the man sighed. “We need to make space for new animals. That black one’s the only one left.”

Damian could see the righteous fury in her eyes and felt his own ire spike. Were...were they talking about euthanizing the black kitten because they couldn’t make a profit?! Marinette then moved faster than either of them, popping the locks on the cage. She scooped up the little fur ball before staring the man dead in the eye. Her expression issued a challenge, daring anyone to try and take the little kitten from her.

“I want her.”

“Do you have the money to pay for-”

“Yes.”

Without another word to either male, Marinette marched over to the register, still cradling the kitten protectively in her arms.

If you asked him, that was the moment Damian Wayne fell in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

Perhaps being forced on this blind date wasn't terrible after all.


	3. Day 3: Decorating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets Mar'i. Baking ensues. Damian realizes some things.

Damian wasn’t quite sure how he got roped into this, but he wasn’t going to complain...much.

Later, once Marinette left and Mar’i was with her father, Damian was going to complain to Alfred about how ridiculous this all was. Alfred would smile, pat his shoulder, and tell him it was all part of becoming a man. Damian would blush, and Alfred would help him pull himself together as he complained more, expressing himself the only way he really knew how.

He was currently cursing the powers that be because NO ONE should be that goddamn CUTE!

And it was so unfairly cute.

Mar’i, Dick and Kor’i’s little girl, had come over to spend the weekend with them. The little four year old was a bundle of excitement with the strength of ten men. She had her mother’s otherworldly green eyes, but Dick’s dark black hair. She was an adorable kid, and Damian was rather fond of his niece. It just so happened that not only was Mar’i over at the manner. His girlfriend, Marinette, was in from Paris, and the two had not met before.

Mar’i had been over the moon. She claimed that they were name twins (since Marinette was called Mari by several of her friends), and nearly combusted when she heard Marinette knew how to bake. She begged and pleaded to have Marinette help her make cookies while her daddy was at work. Marinette agreed to as long as Alfred was okay with them using the kitchen. Alfred wasn’t about to deny Mar’i or Marinette, so Damian somehow ended up right beside them as they baked. 

The cookies were all done, but Marinette had made several different colored frostings. She was holding a piping bag with Mar’i on a stool next to her. Marinette would demonstrate how to make a design or pattern, and then she’d let Mar’i try it. Both dark haired girls were so immersed in decorating their cookies that they’d forgotten about Damian temporarily.

Which suited him just fine as he was currently having a meltdown.

He knew Marinette was an attractive woman. She was beautiful, smart, kind, and generous. One would have to be an idiot not to see all the good things about her...but seeing her with Mar’i? Damian felt like he couldn’t breathe because he couldn’t stop his imagination. He couldn’t stop picturing it no matter how hard he tried.

Is this how Marinette would be with a child of their own?

Would she scoop them up in her arms like she did with Mar’i and run down to the kitchen? Would she sprinkle flour on their head while giggling and laughing like she did Mar’i? Would she speak as softly and be patient with their child as she had been when explaining the recipe to Mar’i? Would Marinette teach their child songs to bake to?

Even as she was decorating with Mar’i, Marinette had a look of utter peace on her face. It didn’t matter that Mar’i had been holding the piping back incorrectly, squirting both her and Marinette in the face with frosting. The Parisian had just laughed, smiling brightly, and reassured Mar’i that she wasn’t in trouble. Instead, she cleaned them off and showed the child the proper way to hold the piping bag.

Every time Mar’i cheered after making another successfully decorated cookie, Marinette’s voice would be there to give her encouragement. They were both messy and would need a bath later, but Damian couldn’t even bring himself to be annoyed with it. They were having fun. The two girls he loved the most were enjoying themselves.

It was by decorating cookies that Damian realized something else about Marinette and something about himself.

He realized that Marinette would make a great mother someday if that’s what she wanted. He also realized that if he were to have children, the only woman he’d want as their mother would be Marinette. Damian could picture a little little girl with his own green eyes and Marinette’s beautiful smile. He could see them baking cookies, just like Marinette was doing with Mar’i now.

Putting down his own piping bag, Damian rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

He was so fucked.


	4. Day 4: Gaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette plays Pokemon Shield. Damian wants her to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one's going to be super short! I have finals right now. I just finished two, so one more to go and hopefully then I'll be able to write!

Damian silently stared at the screen on abject horror before turning his gaze to his girlfriend. His beautiful angel had the brightest smile on her face, one that was slightly feral. He couldn't tell when she'd last slept, but the bags were not an encouraging sign. She looked a lot like Tim when he got wrapped up working on a huge case. She looked just as pleased as Tim did when he made a break in the case as well.

"I did it! I got ALL OF THEM!" Marinette sang, showing Damian her boxes filled with Alcremies.

All 63 possible evolutions of them…

"Marinette…we just got the game," Damian said slowly. 

"So?"

"Marinette… how-?"

"I wanted them all."

Damian quietly swapped over screens, only to realize that Marinette had been playing since they GOT the game. She hadn't slept in three days to ensure she got all  **63 variations** of Alcremie. There was a part of Damian that was immensely impressed with his girlfriend. The other part of him was screaming for her to GO TO BED. He quickly saved the game (and all of Marinette’s Alcremies) before turning it off which prompted a shirek from Marinette.

“Don’t worry, Malāki,” Damian said, putting it away. “I saved your game. All your Alcremies will be there after you take a nap.”

“But Daaaaaamiiiii!”

Damian scooped Marinette up into his arms, not allowing for any more protest. He carried her into his room, and dropped her on the bed, ignoring the confused looks he’d gotten from Dick and Tim. He climbed onto the bed before wrapping his arms tightly around Marinette. He let out a sigh, kissing the top of her head.

“Go to sleep, Malāki.”

“But I want to play the game more!”

“Malāki, sleep or I’ll hide the game.”

“Meanie.”

“I love you too.”


	5. Day 5: Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's just tired.

Marinette really loved her boyfriend.

Damian Wayne was a strong, fierce, independent, deceptively kind, and loving man. He had been nothing but polite and cordial upon their first meeting. As she got to know him, her feelings for him grew. Little had she known that Damian was also quite taken with her. It had been two years since they’d first met, and Damian had only recently cracked and asked her out. The past few months had been like a dream.

Marinette really loved Damian.

Her boyfriend’s friends?

...she didn’t care for them at the moment.

The black haired Parisian looked at the group of men assembled before her, who were looking at her like a goddess. She had the savior of the day in her right hand, and her left fist on her hip. Grey eyes glared at a black haired blue eyed boy around her age, and a ginger haired boy with brown eyes who was also close to her age. Both boys were covered in different ingredients and had scorch marks on their sleeves. After making eye contact with Marinette, both boys lowered their heads in shame.

Damian looked from his place on his brother’s couch. His green eyes were wide as he stared at his girlfriend in slight apprehension. He’d told the two of them to wait for Marinette to get back, but Damian also did nothing to stop them from cooking either. He hadn’t even realized what was going on until he smelled smoke, and the pair had screamed fire. He could tell Marinette was livid with them from the way her eyes were narrowed and her lips curled in a sickly grin.

He then changed his gaze to look towards Dick. The black haired man was horrified, bright blue eyes scanning around his kitchen, looking for any other damage. Damian couldn’t recall his brother ever being so tense, but he figured that Marinette would take care of all that in a moment. All Damian could be thankful for was that the fire wasn’t a large one.

Thankfully, it was only a pot that caught fire and not the whole stove top. Damian would also thank Marinette’s quick thinking as another reason things did not get worse. Marinette had not panicked when noticing the kitchen fire. In fact, Marinette had been the first to react to it. She’d grabbed a box of baking soda, and she’d dumped it into the pot. She was able to get everything under control, only leaving the one pot as ruined rather than Dick’s entire kitchen.

“Jonathan Samuel Kent, Colin John Wilkes, what were you thinking?!” Marinette demanded. “What on Earth possessed you to cook without myself or Dick present?”

“We-”

“And why in the name of all things good, did you just stand there and watch it burn?”

“Grease fires are different-”

“You’re right. Grease fires are different. Grease fires you put out with their baking soda or salt,” Marinette said through gritted teeth. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse to sit there and watch it BURN!”

The boys just shrugged, looking between each other while Marinette tried to keep her shit together. Damian looked slightly irritated with the pair of them, but those idiots were Damian’s idiots, and Marinette wasn’t sure she could deal with them at the moment along with Dick.

Damian rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking at his brother and saying, “Well, at least Malāki kept the damage from being too bad, right?”

Dick was still displeased with them...sans Marinette who had indeed saved his kitchen with a box of baking soda.


	6. Day 6: Tree- Amaya Wayne AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian can't say no to his little girl.

It was times like these that Damian was thankful that his father and Alfred taught him some American holiday traditions. He hadn’t quite understood what was so great about it when he was younger, but now as a father, he began to see the appeal of it. For as long as he could remember, Bruce had insisted upon putting up a Christmas tree with whatever family was present at the time. Alfred had always made hot cocoa and cookies to accompany the decorating of the tree, which had been Damian’s favorite part growing up. 

Decorating the tree however? Celebrating Christmas?

Damian really hadn’t seen the point of it all until he had his own baby girl. For the past three yeas, he and Marinette had had small celebrations with a mini-tree with their daughter since she wouldn't remember any of it. This year Amaya turned four and would be able to remember what had happened during Christmas. She was now old enough to ask about a tree, and if they were going to have one too like Grandpa Bruce and Uncle Clark.

The former almost-assassin was an absolute pile of  _ mush _ for his baby girl, so he and Marinette decided to do a full sized tree this year instead of the mini one. Bruce had been thrilled with the news and handed down some ornaments that had been in the Wayne family for decades. Marinette had thought it was sweet, and Amaya had cooed over how pretty they were.

As he watched his wife carefully attach hangers to the ornaments, Damian finally realized why Bruce was so hellbent on getting them together to decorate the stupid tree. It was because for a solid hour or more, everyone was together. There were no super villains. There were no interruptions. There was just them, the ornaments, and Alfred’s wonderful hot cocoa and cookies. They’d put the ornaments on the tree and fight about what should go where. They’d work together to get the tree completed. They’d talk about regular things for once instead of their activities in the capes. 

Damian felt his heart melt as he watched Marinette help Amaya hang up ornaments. He couldn't begin to describe the joy he felt as he listened to his little girl chatter away to her maman about what ornament they should put up next or how they should arrange the tree. He couldn’t stop smiling when his daughter shoved an ornament in his hands and said, “Abun! Put it over here!”

This is what Amaya would remember until next Christmas.

If they did this every year, then Amaya would remember decorating the tree for the rest of her life. She’d remember spending uninterrupted time with her Abun and Maman. She’d remember their laughter, their smiles. She’d remember this as time spent with her loved ones. These would be memories Amaya could look back on fondly as the times her parents were there for her.

And all Damian wanted for his precious girl was to have good memories of him and Marinette.

As they wrapped up the tree, Damian handed Amaya to Marinette. He kissed them both on the cheek before saying he’d be right back. After all, they couldn’t finish decorating the tree without hot cocoa and cookies! Damian quickly grabbed some of the sugar cookies his wife had already made and put them on a plate. He then grabbed three mugs and made hot cocoa (Damian tried, but he resolved to ask Alfred for his recipe next year). He brought them out to the living room, setting them down on the coffee table with a smile.

He then noticed his chubby-cheeked baby girl looking up at him with her big green eyes. Amaya had the angel in her hands, and she held it out to her father.

“Abun! We need the angel, Abun!” she pointed out with a pout.

Damian gently lifted his daughter up and instructed her to put the angel on the top of the tree. Amaya did so with great glee, enjoying being picked up by her daddy. Once the angel was securely on top, Marinette handed Amaya a cookie. Damian kissed the top of his daughter’s slightly curly black locks and asked how the tree looked.

“It’s pretty! It’s pretty! I like it!” Amaya chirped in between bites of cookie. “Can we do it every year?”

Damian looked at Marinette, who was holding her cup of cocoa and gazing lovingly at her husband and daughter. He laughed before rubbing his nose against his daughter’s and replying, “If that would make Albi happy, then we’ll decorate the tree every year.”

Amaya cheered as Damian sat down next to Marinette, still holding his baby girl. They cuddled together on the couch as they enjoyed their hot cocoa and cookies, gazing upon the tree they’d put together.

Damian supposed this tree tradition wasn’t as horrible as he thought...not if it made his girls happy.


	7. Day 7: Dancer AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and co. are shooketh. Mar'i is adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mar'i's nickname for Bruce isn't one I came up with. Mira Gloria in the Maribat Discord helped me come up with that!

Bruce Wayne couldn’t believe his eyes. He could also tell his three older sons couldn’t believe it either. They continued to look back and forth between each other, wide eyed and jaws dropped. The only one missing from the group was his youngest son. His youngest son, Damian, who was the cause of this extreme shock.

Damian was currently smiling at a petite woman in a loose black and red costume. The halter top leotard was completely black with red gems around the neckline. Her sheer skirt started was black at the top but faded into red towards the bottom. The skirt had a large slit in the left side, making it easier for her to move freely. Her hair was pulled up into two small buns, leaving her heart-shaped face exposed.

The woman had gorgeous grey eyes that were highlighted by the burgundy eye shadow she was wearing. Her cheeks were flushed slightly, and she was wearing wine red lipstick. She was smiling brightly at Damian as the two talked to each other animatedly. She seemed completely at ease with Damian, even going as far as to smack him on the shoulder.

Bruce was shocked for two reasons. One, Damian never let anyone he didn’t know touch him, let alone smack him. Two, when she did smack him instead of Damian becoming upset, he smiled broadly at the woman. Damian even leaned in closer to the young woman and played with her skirt. Bruce was about to go over and scold Damian until he heard an excited little voice.

“Mimpa! Mimpa!” a sweet little voice called.

Bruce turned to see a tall, tanned woman with wild red hair and bright green eyes holding a small child with equally bright eyes and black hair pulled into a bun. The little girl was wearing a pink tutu and pink ballet slippers, and was waving wildly at them. Bruce smiled in return, moving to greet them.

“Mar’i, my little ballerina!” Bruce said. “You did wonderfully!”

“Thank you, Mimpa! Where’s Daddy?” Mar’i asked looking around.

“It looks like Daddy is...staring at Uncle Dami and a young lady?” Kor’i responded.

Mar’i looked around for a moment before grinning broadly. She looked at her mother and begged to be put down. Kor’i looked confused, but placed her daughter on the ground. The little girl turned and immediately began running over to her uncle and the woman he was talking to. She was waving one hand frantically, calling out to them.

“Uncle Dami! Miss Nette!”

Miss Nette?

The young woman turned her attention to Mar’i and got down on one knee. She held her arms open as the little girl threw herself into them. She picked the little girl up and held her close. Mar’i began giggling and talking a mile a minute about her performance.

Bruce and Kor’i shared a bewildered look, but Kor’i took the initiative and walked over to them.

“Hello, my name is Kor’i Grayson. Mar’i’s my daughter,” she said with a grin.

“Oh, hello! My name is Marinette,” the young woman said. “I’m one of the lyrical dancers at the studio.”

“She helps teach my ballet class!” Mar’i said happily. “Miss Nette’s the best! She’s nice an’ helpful an’ lots of fun!” 

“...Wait a second, is that why you’re always volunteering to take Mar’i to ballet class?!” a shocked voice asked.

Bruce watched as Dick marched over to them.

“Richard Grayson, Mar’i’s father. Please call me, Dick,” he said. “Please tell me Damian hasn’t been causing you any trouble.”

“Oh no, not at all! Damian’s been nothing but kind to me since we met during Mar’i’s ballet class. Mar’i was getting so frustrated, and nothing I said was helping, so Damian came in to see what was wrong. He got her to calm down, and we managed to work through it,” Marinette explained with a smile.

“Uncle Dami even helped me learn the steps!” Mar’i chirped.

“Anything for you, little star,” Damian replied. “And before you ask Grayson, despite being related to you, Mar’i is still my niece. Of course I’m going to be nicer to her than you.”

Dick pouted at that, and Jason took his turn to ask something.

“So you and Demon Spawn are pretty familiar?” he asked. “Because I can’t recall anyone being allowed to smack his shoulder without receiving a broken wrist, so you must be special.”

“Of course Miss Nette’s special, Uncle Jay! Uncle Dami said she’s lovely,” Mar’i replied for her.

The little girl’s green eyes widened before she looked up at Marinette.

“Are you going to be my auntie, Miss Nette?” she asked. “Is Uncle Dami going to marry you? He already brings you presents like my daddy gives my mommy! Oh, please say yes! Please marry Uncle Dami!”

Marinette’s face flushed brilliantly as Damian stepped in. He gently took Mar’i from Marinette’s arms. He fixed her with a stern expression before saying, “Now Mar’i, that’s for Miss Nette to decide. You’re right though. I do very much like Miss Nette, and I would very much like to keep dating her. However, we haven’t been together very long, so I’m not going to ask just yet. Do you understand, Mar’i?”

Mar’i nodded at her uncle while Tim checked his pulse. He was still alive. Tim pinched himself next. He was indeed awake. Tim looked in horror at Jason, who just stood there in shock. Dick seemed to be fairing a bit better, but that was probably due to Kor’i’s presence. Bruce was still behind Kor’i and Dick having not moved since Kor’i introduced herself. There was only one person who didn’t seem to be visibly shocked.

“Master Damian, where are your manners? I know I taught you some,” a British accented voice scolded. “You haven’t even introduced us to this lovely young lady, who I assume is the person you’ve been sneaking out to see for the past three months. Also, don’t think I didn’t see you earlier, young man. You should not play with a young lady’s skirt like that.”

Damian looked slightly chastised but continued to smile.

“Alfred, this is Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s a lyrical dancer and assistant teacher for Mar’i’s ballet class. She’s also my girlfriend of three months,” Damian said, wrapping his free arm around Marinette. “Nettie, this is Alfred Pennyworth. He’s the Wayne Family butler officially, and unofficially my grandfather. You’ve now met both Dick and his wife, Kor’i, who are Mar’i’s parents. The tall asshole with the white streak in his hair is my brother Jason, and the one who’s still not sure if he’s awake is Tim.”

Marinette smiled shyly as she shook hands with the elderly Englishman.

“It’s very nice to meet you!” she said. “Damian’s spoken fondly of all of you.”

Alfred smiled in return, telling Marinette it was nice to finally meet Damian’s girlfriend. He began chatting with her about Mar'i's lessons and soon Kor’i joined in. The trio were happy to talk to one another with interruptions from both Mar’i and Damian. The others?

The others stood there still trying to process the fact that Damian had a girlfriend and had managed to hide it from them.


	8. Day 8: Robin Hood AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette just wanted to tend her herbs.

This was not at all how Marinette expected her month to go.

Things had been a bit wild in the village lately, but she hadn’t expected to get involved in ANY of it. She’d promised her maman and papa that she would stay in her cottage and work on her potions. As the local healer’s apprentice, Marinette was often the one in charge of ensuring there were enough poultices and herbs to make any medicine needed. She had managed to avoid the chaos so far, sticking to the outer woods and her gardens. Sure, she had left a care package here and there for those in the woods, but that hadn’t meant that trouble would come to her.

The last thing she had expected to happen was to find a badly wounded man in her herb garden. This was not just any man either. His dark black cloak lined with green and red and black tunic with yellow threading marked him as one of the most infamous bandits in the kingdom.

Robin.

The man had been stealing from King Ra’s al Guhl along with several associates. None of them had ever been caught, but many a peasant had found themselves with inexplicable amounts of gold hidden near their homes. It had seemed Robin and the posse he belonged to were determined to steal from the rich and give to the needy.

Marinette herself had been given gifts by the bandits. The hair ribbon she had worn every day since receiving it had been a gift from the infamous Red Hood. He had come to her cabin seeking medicine to help ease a fever. He’d told her a young child was very ill, and Marinette had given him what he needed and wrote down instructions for him to follow. A few weeks later, he returned with a letter and a ribbon.

The letter thanked Marinette for her help, and that the treatment she suggested had saved his only daughter’s life. Hood had insisted she take the ribbon as a thank you, and that he and the others would leave her out of their mischief and lawbreaking. Marinette had agreed, and they’d kept to their promises so far.

Until almost three Sundays ago…

But Marinette couldn’t be mad. After all, he had been injured and was obviously seeking assistance from a healer. She was a healer, so Marinette figured she couldn’t fault him for trying to get to her. She did give him a little credit for trying to do so inconspicuously as her herb garden was behind her cottage near the woods. 

She had dragged him inside her cottage and had hidden him away in the quarantine room. Marinette had cut his tunic off his body in order to see the wound better. It had been a large incision on the left side of his torso that thankfully hadn’t been deep enough to puncture organs. The main concern had been blood loss, so Marinette had set to work cleaning and stitching up the wound. By the time she had finished, the sun had nearly set.

Marinette had lit some candles and washed off her hands before going back to see her patient. He had still been wearing his cloak and mask, so Marinette carefully removed them. She hadn’t wanted anything filthy potentially infecting his wound, and the cloak was beyond ruined. The dark haired peasant had to give herself some credit, however. The second she had seen the bandit’s face, she had wanted to scream in surprise and shock.

The man resting on the bed was gorgeous. He had tanned skin and a sharp jaw. His cheekbones were well defined as were the dark lashes on his eyes. His pitch black hair was in disarray, and his lips were, in her opinion, very kissable. That hadn’t been what shocked her the most though.

She had known that face.

Marinette had seen that face growing up almost every day of her life. It was the dead prince...or at least the prince that was supposed to be dead. Prince Damian al Guhl, only child of Princess Talia al Guhl, had gone missing when he was ten years old. King Ra’s al Guhl had scoured the kingdom, but no sign of the young prince was ever found. Marinette had remembered because she had also been ten years old...and that was the day the king had grown even crueler.

Now, almost ten years later, Marinette had been faced with a man thought to be long dead.

She had not known what to do except keep the man hidden until he was able to answer her questions. Marinette hadn’t been terribly worried about it, considering all she had to do was tell them a man had come to her with a new type of rash and was currently quarantined while Marinette looked for a treatment. No, she hadn’t been worried about the kingdom guards at all.

Marinette had been more worried about the so called Bat Clan coming to claim their broken bird. She had known that at least Red Hood knew where she lived. The Bat Clan coming to the kingdom had the potential to be disastrous. She knew she had no power to stop them though, so Marinette had simply prayed that they did not come. Marinette knew she wouldn’t be able to hide more than one bandit she already had. 

Thankfully, no one had come, and Damian had awoken four days later.

The man had tried to reach his weapon until he spotted the ribbon holding up her hair. He had stopped, looking her up and down once before rasping, “You’re the medicine woman Hood went to.”

“And you’re supposed to be dead, Prince Damian,” Marinette responded. “But yes, the Red Hood did come seek my aid.”

“You saved Mar’i’s life.”

“Mar’i?”

“Nightwing’s daughter. Her fever had gotten so bad. We didn’t know what to do...but Hood found you. Hood found you, and she lived.”

Marinette had looked in Damian’s beautiful jade green eyes and noticed they were hazy and slightly unfocused. She put a hand against Damian’s forehead and noted he had a slight fever. That had made things make a little more sense to Marinette. A bandit wouldn’t just give away secrets, but if he had a fever then perhaps he didn’t realize what he was telling her.

She had smiled kindly at him before responding that she was glad to have helped. Marinette had then fetched some pain killing herbs as well as some for his fever. She had asked him to take the herbs and sleep as he was still recovering. Surprisingly, he had taken the herbs and gone back to sleep soon after.

Marinette had continued to take care of the man, changing his bandages and taking care to avoid infection. As Damian had gotten better, the more he seemed to trust her. He had not questioned her when she gave him herbs or when she told him it was time to change his bandages. Damian had even begun to smile at her more to Marinette’s delight.

Damian had begun to share just what was going on, and why he had disappeared. He had revealed his father to be Sir Bruce Wayne, one of the knights of the kingdom. He had told her how his father hadn’t wanted to marry Talia, but Talia had wanted him. Neither Bruce nor Damian had known of each other’s existence until he was ten years old, and Ra’s tried to convince Bruce to marry his daughter.

Bruce had adopted several children before Damian had even been born, and Damian know considered them to be his brothers and sisters. His eldest adopted brother had helped him escape from the castle, and his second eldest brother had hidden him away. He’d been living with them, and they became determined to try and take Ra’s kingdom away from him. 

Marinette had then admitted that she was the one who had been leaving the care packages in the woods for them. Damian had smiled in return, telling Marinette that they knew. He told her it had been the reason why Hood, his brother Jason, had trusted her not to turn him in when he came for help. He had been quick to reassure her that the kingdom’s guards didn’t know, and that she was protected by the Bat Clan.

It had soothed Marinette’s nerves a bit, but after hearing Damian’s tale, she no longer felt content to sit around and do nothing. Once Damian had recovered, he’d given her an offer that she’d never expected.

“What do you say, Nettie? Take a sabbatical, look for new herbs, and come with me?” he had asked her.

Marinette hadn’t needed to think long on it. She delivered her notices and informed her family she was going to seek out new herbs and treatments far from her village. She had left her cottage and disappeared into the woods without a trace.

In a month’s time, stories would spread of a woman who vaguely reminded them of a village healer who had disappeared into the wood. She wore red and black clothing and was never seen without Robin by her side. Her name was Ladybug. She was a kind and talented healer, and the Robin’s beloved partner.

Two years later, King Damian Wayne would wed Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng, after the downfall of King Ra’s al Guhl. The Bat Clan still existed, but for a different purpose now, but one thing never changed. Where there was a Ladybug, a Robin would be close behind.


	9. Day 9: Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's heart finds it's golden match.

Marinette was having a shitty day.

The class had left her behind at the hotel. Lila had managed to convince everyone that Marinette had done it on purpose to get attention. She’d been scolded harshly by Ms. Bustier, and Adrien had done nothing but stand there. The only person in her class waiting and worried for her was Chloe, who’s little yellow heart darted over to Marinette. Her heart latched onto Marinette’s shirt and snuggled against her as Chloe walked over, concern written clear on her face.

Marinette gently stroked Chloe’s heart watching it turn silver as she touched it. It nuzzled underneath her jacket to find Marinette’s own fractured heart. Her little heart had lost most of its color, turning it into a light, almost faded pastel pink. It had cracks all over it, and no longer did it venture very far from Marinette. It accepted hugs from Chloe’s heart, but neither left her jacket as Chloe wrapped Marinette in a tight hug. The blonde glared daggers at the other students and her teacher until Marinette shook her head. Instead, Chloe linked her arm with Marinette’s and strolled to the front of the group, head held high.

_ “Isn’t that sad? Like, at least Chloe has a heart,” _ Alya not-so-quietly whispered, her own red-orange heart sitting on her shoulder.  _ “Lila told me Marinette doesn’t have one. Like I was once her BFF, and I never saw her heart! Like she saw mine when I met Nino, but Marinette’s heart has never appeared once!” _

_ “It is really sad, Alya. Marinette will never be able to find her soulmates,” _ Lila pretended to sniffle.  _ “After all, even bullies deserve some happiness too.” _

_ “Oh, Lila! Girl, you’re too good to her,” _ Alya replied, throwing her arm around the Italian girl.  _ “Tell us more about your heart! Are you sure your heart can’t come out?” _

_ “Oh, goodness no! I have to keep my heart in its pocket at all times. Due to my illnesses, my heart’s very delicate and weak. People like Marinette could potentially hurt my heart out of jealousy! Besides, I know who my golden heartmate is! Damiboo was so sweet about the whole thing. I hope I get to see him on this trip! I didn’t tell him we were coming because I know how busy he gets-” _

“Hello, and good morning! Is this Ms. Bustier’s class?” a cheerful sounding voice interrupted Lila.

The class turned to look at the speaker, seeing one of the most handsome men they’d ever met. He had brilliant sky blue eyes and a beautiful smile. He had pitch black hair that was slicked back, and he was dressed in a well fitting business suit that showed off his fit figure. His heart was hanging out on his shoulder, as blue as his eyes. It smiled and waved at the teens, causing several people to melt. It had a few dark spots, but nothing that made the heart unattractive or scary. 

Ms. Bustier blushed before nodded silently.

“Excellent! My name is Richard Grayson, but my friends call me Dick,” he said with a broad grin. “I’ll be conducting the tour today along with one of our heads of security, Jason! Say hi, Jay!”

A man much taller than Dick coughed before waving his hand. He was just as attractive as the Dick, but in a more...bad boy, tough guy way. He had a sharp, defined jawline, and sharp green eyes. His hair was more ruffled than Dick’s with a shock of white in the front. He was also rather muscular, but was wearing clothing far less formal than Dick’s. He was wearing a white button up, a bulletproof vest and slacks with a gun strapped to his hip. 

There was one thing that most definitely stuck out to Marinette, and that was that Jason’s heart was nowhere to be seen. That attracted some whispers as well. She heard Lila whisper about how sad it was that such a handsome man didn’t have a heart. Alya agreed, and the girls in the class began gossiping about what could have happened.

No one was born without a heart, but anyone could lose theirs. Hearts were a reflection of the soul and reflected any damage done to the soul. Some people lost their hearts after the loss of a loved one. Some people rejected their hearts. Others had their heart broken one too many times for it to survive. It really didn’t matter the way one lost their heart. It was devastating all the same.

Marinette knew you could recover your heart. It was a lot of work, but it could be done. Once a person’s soul had reasonably healed, their heart would reappear. Science believed this was a defense mechanism built into humanity. A person’s heart was supposed to show them people they were destined to have a relationship with, romantic or otherwise. So if a person was truly hurt soul deep, the heart would disappear to give the person a chance to recover...if they wanted to.

That was the danger of being without a heart. How could anyone want to get better with all the venomous looks and whispers directed at those who deviated from the norm. One might as well have raised a big ass flag reading, “I’m damaged and vulnerable!”. No one liked feeling that way, and as Marinette was finding, it was a hard thing to come back from.

“If you’re done gossiping about things that are really none of your goddamn business,” Jason grimaced. “I’d like to get this tour done. I have other things to do today.”

Marinette’s eyes widened as Lila and her posse started up their waterworks. The class was torn between crying, looking ashamed, and looking shocked that this gruff-looking man knew French. Ms. Bustier and her teal heart looked ready to scold Jason until he silenced her with a look.

“I work security in one of the most crime ridden cities in the country,” he growled. “I’m not stupid enough to leave my heart out where it’s vulnerable, not that it’s yours or your damn student’s business where my heart is. Rule number one of Gotham; Don’t run your mouth or you’re likely to get shot.”

Marinette and Chloe shared a worried look before their tour guide stepped in. Both girls could see the fury behind his polite smile and warm voice.

“Now Jason, don’t go scaring the children! You know Bruce wouldn’t be happy to hear about that,” Dick began. “However, he does have a point. People in Gotham don’t take too kindly to being gossiped about, especially about our hearts. That’s a very private topic here. High crime means high violence, and very few people have lived here without losing someone they cared about.”

Before Alya could even ask, Adrien covered her mouth and shook his head.

_ “He lost his parents,” _ the blond hissed.  _ “Don’t ask about them!” _

Chloe looked at Marinette before saying, _ “You know what? I think that’s the least shitty thing Adrien’s done in years.” _

Marinette nodded wordlessly before Dick clapped his hands together and suggested they start moving. Lila made her way to the front, trying to show that she would not be cowed by these American men. Her posse followed behind her, leaving Chloe and Marinette towards the back. They didn’t mind it, and in fact were quite used to it. If they stayed in the back, it was less likely that the others would give them any problems.

Jason stayed near the two girls, quietly filling them in on bits of Dick’s speech that they missed due to the class. Marinette had given Jason a tired smile, and in return received an equally somber smile from not only him, but his pale green heart. It had poked out from under his bulletproof vest, and from what Marinette could see, it was cracked just as bad or worse than hers. 

Chloe watched the interaction silently and decided she liked Jason. He seemed to be wiser to the liar than their class, so Chloe guessed he could hang around them. She ended up being happy that she didn’t throw a fit about him following them. Every time one of Lila’s groupies moved to do something, Jason had immediately put himself between them and the rest of the class.

Jason had made it clear in the lobby he was not a man to be messed with, and Chloe was grateful he’d taken a liking to the two of them. Both she and Marinette would agree that it was nice to finally have someone on their side. Jason had even made sure they got reasonable seats (read away from their classmates) where the only other occupant was an exhausted looking man who appeared to only be a few years older than them.

“This is Tim,” Jason said, setting his tray down next to the man. “Timmy, say hello to our lovely guests from today’s tour. This is Marinette and Chloe.”

Tim looked up from his laptop and gave them an exhausted smile.

“Hi, enjoying your tour so-”

That was as far as Tim got before Marinette’s pink heart suddenly burst from her jacket. It darted over to the door of the cafeteria and looked back to see if the dark haired girl was coming. Marinette, of course, jumped out of her seat. She raced after her heart, feeling anxiety building up in her stomach. Her class had seen her heart. Her class had seen how broken it was. Her class now knew she was close to shattering. She could almost see Lila’s shit-eating grin now.

The dark haired girl could only vaguely hear Chloe and Jason following after her as she screamed her apologies while weaving in and out between people. Her heart seemed determined not to get caught, making mid air changes and maneuvers to throw her off. What made her anxiety skyrocket was the fact her heart had just phased through a door marked,  **Employees Only** . 

“I’ve gotcha, Nettie!” a voice said.

Jason passed her— when had he even caught up to her— to unlock the door with his ID. Jason stayed by her side, his own heart now floating alongside them, and he opened the restricted doors. Nearly ten floors later, another heart smacked right into Marinette’s chest. 

Marinette stopped, nearly falling backwards, but Jason caught her in time. She looked at the heart floating before her and gasped. What wasn’t covered by cracks or dark patches was the most gorgeous jade green she’d ever seen. It looked at her warily for a second before gently pressing itself into her palm.

Marinette’s world stopped when the heart flashed gold.

This person was her romantic soulmate. The owner of this battered and bruised heart was her romantic soulmate, and Marinette couldn’t help but begin to tear up. Her soulmate had been through so much. They had to have been for their soul to be so wounded. She gently cupped the heart in her hands and rubbed it against her cheek, unsure of what else to do.

She only stopped when a gasp broke through her racing thoughts. Big grey eyes looked up to see her battered heart leading someone towards her. He was objectively handsome with his dark tan skin and brilliant green eyes. His black hair was now messy, but Marinette figured it must have been styled before her heart got a hold of it. His face was one of open confusion and disbelief.

That was, until Marinette’s heart plopped itself into his hand.

The moment it flashed gold, he was by her side in a second.

Marinette timidly opened her hands to expose the heart she’d been cradling so gently, and the boy took his free hand and gently brushed away the tears leaking from her eyes.

“Please, don’t cry,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. Your heart...it’s been hurt so much…”

The boy smiled softly at her before responding, “I appreciate the concern, Malāki, but so has yours.”

“Mal-”

“My angel, it means my angel. Now tell me, who hurt you like this?”

Marinette’s eyes widened as his voice darkened. His expression showed great displeasure, and for a second, she began to panic that it was because of her. Of course it was because of her! Who would want a damaged soulmate! Of course, her heart was too close to shattering to be worth his time! He was wearing a designer suit! He was obviously someone of high social standing and who was she? Some pathetic baker's child with a nearly shattered heart.

“Malāki! Malāki, please breathe with me,” his voice cut in, this time much softer. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry that someone has the gall to hurt my soulmate and think they can get away with it. Tell me who did it, and I’ll make sure they never hurt you again.”

Marinette hadn’t even realized she’d been pulled into a hug from her soulmate. She went almost limp in his arms, dragging them both to their knees. He didn’t let go of her. He simply knelt on the floor with her while she cried into his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, making Marinette melt more into the hug.

For a while it was just the two of them. He would smooth her hair and tell her everything was going to be okay. Marinette would cling to him like a drowning person did a life preserver. They stayed like that until a confused voice broke into their little world.

“Damian? Damian, you were supposed to-Jason, what’s going on?”

Marinette looked up to see a handsome older man with black hair and familiar blue eyes. She felt the panic come back as she realized why the man was familiar. This was Bruce Wayne. He was the owner of Wayne Enterprises. He was the one who allowed them to tour this facility. She had just interrupted something important, hadn’t she? Oh she was going-

“Well, looks like Hell Spawn has a golden soulmate after all, B,” Jason said with a smug look. “I knew my heart liked that little French girl for a reason. Anyone who is destined to put up with the brat for the rest of their lives must be a goddamn saint. Maybe you’ll get grand kids after all.”

What?

Marinette was so confused until her soulmate gently helped her up from the floor. He smiled at her before introducing himself.

“Hello, my name is Damian Wayne,” he said softly. “The man who looks extremely confused is my father, Bruce Wayne. The smug looking jackass who helped you get here is my second oldest adopted brother, Jason Todd.”

The pieces clicked together in her head and before Marinette could help it, she asked, “Does that mean you’re related to Dick too?”

Damian sighed before replying, “Unfortunately, Dick is my eldest adopted brother.”

“Oh, and um, hi. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng-”

“The young lady who helped set up this tour, if I’m not mistaken,” Bruce said kindly. “It’s very nice to meet you, Marinette.”

“All right, enough mush! Hell spawn, you better take care of that soulmate, or I’ll kick your ass,” Jason said, crossing his arms. “I’ve become quite fond of little Nettie here, and if you fuck up her becoming our sister, I’ll hate you forever.”

“Don’t plan on it, Todd,” Damian snapped at his brother. “Now Malāki, I’ll ask again. Who. Hurt. You?”

Before Marinette could even respond, Dick opened the security door. He was followed by Tim, a worried/pissed Chloe, and the rest of their class. Chloe, surprisingly, didn’t storm over to Marinette. Her blue eyes gazed over how close Damian was holding Marinette and things fell into place. Instead of raging at Marinette for running off, she smiled and asked, “So, silver, gold, metallic blue? Don’t leave me hanging!”

“Gold,” Marinette squeaked out, looking at her best friend.

Damian didn’t seem very happy until Chloe’s heart flew over to Marinette and rubbed against her cheek. The second the yellow heart made contact, it turned a brilliant silver hue. Marinette smiled up at Damian before replying, “This is Chloe Bourgeois. She’s one of my platonic soulmates.”

He nodded before gently shifting Marinette to stand beside Jason. He walked over to the blonde girl before sticking out his hand.

“Damian Wayne.”

“As Minette said, I’m Chloe Bourgeois. She’s my best friend, so you better take damn good care of her, or you’ll never be able to set foot in Paris again.”

“Of course.”

Marinette looked between them with worry as the pair seemed to be eyeing each other up. Jason gently patted her back before reassuring her that Damian didn’t mind Chloe. He said that if Damian didn’t like Chloe, he would have insulted her. Jason’s pale green heart peaked out of his vest again before slowly allowing itself to rest in Marinette’s open hand.

It shimmered a shiny metallic blue color, and Marinette felt someone kiss the top of her head.

“Knew I liked you for a reason, Nettie. Guess you were destined to become my little sister, Hell Spawn aside,” Jason chuckled.

Before Damian (or any of the other members of the Wayne family) could say anything, a tanned girl with brown hair began to wail loudly. She began crying in rapid fire French about how she couldn’t believe Damian would cheat on her. She began asking if everything was a lie, and that she’d let him see her heart when no one else had. She began to point at Marinette and call her every dirty name in the book, making her sink into Jason’s side for support.

Even her little pink heart had returned to its previous hiding spot in her jacket, and Jason could see it trembling. He nearly saw red when the girl called Marinette a one dollar whore, but surprisingly, Tim stepped in at that moment. His dark blue eyes glittered dangerously as he loudly asked the class to leave before they caused a scene. He made it clear only Chloe and Marinette were allowed to stay.

The class became angry with that, especially a dark skinned auburn haired girl with glasses. She began to shout in French how Marinette shouldn’t be there and should have to come too if they had to leave. She then went on a tirade about how Marinette was nothing but a bully and an abuser. She asked them how they could protect someone so horrible that they would try to seduce someone else’s romantic soulmate just because she was losing her heart!

_ “Because she is my romantic soulmate, you pathetic excuse for a journalist, _ ” Damian sneered.  _ “I’d wondered why Father even allowed your class to attend this tour. Marinette and Chloe seem to be the only ones with any brain cells among you.” _

Marinette watched Lila’s face go sheet white. It appeared that the Italian hadn’t considered what would happen if one of the Waynes actually understood  **and** spoke French. She began tugging on Alya’s arm, shaking her head and saying it wasn’t worth it. However, Alya was determined and continued to try and prove Lila right.

_ “Miss, I believe you are mistaken,” _ Bruce cut in,  _ “I do not know anyone named Lila Rossi, and neither do my sons. You must be confused.” _

Before Alya could try and argue, Damian took his heart and put it in Marinette’s hands. His heart lit up gold and stuck its’ little tongue out at Alya and the group which caused an uproar. The French teens were turning on one another, some angry, some horrified, and some just bursting into tears.

Tim and Dick herded them out quickly, wanting to meet their baby brother’s soulmate, but not wanting this chaos around her. Bruce had reassured Ms. Bustier that Marinette and Chloe would be more than fine with him, and that she really should take her class back to the hotel. He told her the class could come back and complete the tour later provided a very large change in behavior.

Marinette watched all of this happen with wide eyes. Jason stayed beside her while Damian took up residence on her other side. Chloe stood firmly in front of Marinette until the class left, not wanting her friend to have something thrown at her. They were all near her, protecting her, and Marinette felt a sob rise in her throat.

Was this what it was like to have soulmates?


	10. Day 10: Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Imma level with y'all. This got a tad angsty before it got fluffy. It does have a fluffy end, I promise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's nothing graphic, but death is mentioned in relation to a natural disaster. Please do not read this chapter if that will upset you. Thanks!

Damian Wayne was a strong, tough man raised by the world’s greatest detective and two assassins who were essentially royalty in their world. He was Robin, and he went out and faced some of Gotham’s worst on a daily basis. He could kill a man and has done so before. He had been through hell and back. He had terrorized anyone who dared to mess with his family. For a little bit, his family hadn’t even thought he had a heart. Even his unofficial Uncle Clark (he was not if one asked Bruce, but if one asked Clark he was) had thought he might be too violent, and he tried to see the best in everyone.

The Leaguers who had met Robin also held the opinion that the man was a cold-hearted menace. Those who didn’t know Batman personally (like Clark or Diana) were rightfully afraid of the Dark Knight’s protege. He was just as intelligent and emotionless as the great Bat himself. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw that day. If one had asked them later what they saw, they would violently deny seeing anything.

It had been a long week for everyone. A massive earthquake had nearly collapsed an entire city, and the League had been called in to help. Robin had offered his assistance, citing that the other Gotham heroes could cope while he and Batman were gone. Due to the size of the emergency and that Robin was already there, Batman agreed. The League been helping people evacuate, looking for survivors, and assisting the cleanup crew.

Robin had decided to work with search and rescue teams with Wonder Woman at the lead.

Diana had lost count of how many people Robin had pulled from the rubble. Some were eerily silent, some screaming, and others babbling their thanks. Diana had noticed how Robin’s shoulders began to slump as they began to find more bodies than survivors. He’d told her that he was fine, but Diana doubted Damian was okay. She’d made a note to tell Bruce when they got back to the temporary headquarters.

In the end, Bruce had sent Damian back to the Watchtower with Diana. He’d told Damian to deliver his report to the Martian Manhunter and to debrief the next shift of Leaguers coming to help. It was during the debrief that the Leaguers saw a side of Robin they never thought they’d see.

The transport pad lit up and out walked a woman in a red and black suit and mask. The body of her suit was completely black which turned into red with spots towards her forearms and shins. Her mask was red with spots as well. Shimmering translucent wings laid flat against her back as she walked towards them. She was carrying something in her arms, but no one was entirely sure what.

Plastic Man shared a look with Booster Gold before both men’s jaws dropped. Robin stopped mid-briefing and walked towards the woman. His face was twisted into one of pain, one they rarely saw outside of the man actually having an injury. Before they could ask anyone around them what was going on, Diana walked into the room and spotted the woman.

“Ladybug! I didn't think you’d be coming,” Diana said with a smile. “I hope you are not here to assist-”

“No, Wonder Woman,” Ladybug smiled. “I know I’m grounded from missions until I recover, however, I did hear that it’s been a rough week. I figured I could help brighten things up a little.”

“Ah, you are too good to us,” Diana sighed. “I do think we could use some cheer about now.”

Booster was confused, and a quick survey of the faces around him told him everyone else was too. Why was she here if she was benched? Why was she benched? She didn’t look hurt, though that could be due to the magic he heard powered her suit. He thought she was cute either way, but how was she going to-

And then they heard Robin let out a soft sob.

Everyone in the room froze as he reached out for the fluffy item in her arms. They saw him adjust the fluff-ball, holding it a bit like a football— was that a face?!

The little fluff-ball did indeed have a face because it was a baby! A small baby, maybe a few months old, was resting in Robin’s arms peacefully. Said man was clutching the child to his chest, kissing the baby’s head repeatedly as he spoke rapid-fire Arabic. Robin, the no nonsense, terrifying, drill sergeant, miniature Batman, was  _ crying _ . 

No one breathed as they watched the scene before them unfold. Ladybug was standing beside him, one hand on his shoulder. Her expression was gentle as she spoke to him quietly. Robin turned towards her, resting his head against hers for a moment while he tried to regain his control. Ladybug’s blue eyes locked onto Diana’s, and Wonder Woman clapped her hands loudly.

“All right! I’ll be finishing up your debrief! There’s only a little more to go through, and then you’ll be sent down. Ladybug? Why don’t you take Robin to go get some rest? It has been a very long week,” Diana said, looking around the room.

Ladybug smiled sadly and nodded before leading Robin away. As they departed, Booster elbowed Plastic Man before hissing, “Look!”

Robin’s shoulders were shaking still.

Only a cough from Diana brought everyone back to the current situation at hand.

—————————————————————————————————————— 

All the air left Damian’s lungs when he spotted his wife on the platform.

God, he’d missed Marinette. He’d missed her so much. He just wanted to hold her tight and never let go, but he had to finish the briefing. He tried to continue until he noticed that she was carrying something or rather someone. All bets were off now as Damian threw his fucks out the window and walked towards his wife. Someone else could finish the meeting. He was done. He was going to see his wife.

He ignored everything else until he could see the person in his wife’s arms. His little girl, his precious baby Amaya, was sleeping peacefully in her arms. She was dressed in a tiny, fluffy chick costume that covered most of her body with a little mask, probably to keep her identity a secret. He let out a quiet sob as his daughter yawned, and all the stress from the week came crashing down on him.

He grabbed his daughter and clutched her close to his chest. She was alive. She was alive and safe. He began to talk to her, telling his daughter how much he loved her, and how he'd protect her. He continued to cry, feeling his wife’s small hand on his shoulder. They were here. They were here, and they were alive. They were okay. They were okay— 

Damian leaned his head against Marinette’s as he tried to pull himself together. His wife was asking him what was wrong, and he needed to calm down before he could tell her. His shoulders still shook as Marinette led him away from everyone else. He managed to pull himself together as they reached an empty rec room. They sat down, and Damian kissed the top of his daughter’s little head.

“...can you tell me what happened?” Marinette asked as she rubbed Damian’s back.

“...a father…”

Damian took a few deep breaths before looking Marinette in the eye.

“We pulled a father out of his collapsed house. He-he-Nettie, oh God, Nettie, he was screaming for his family. He was screaming for his wife and his children, Nettie.”

Marinette’s heart sank as her face grew somber. She could only guess what had happened. She patiently waited for Damian to continue, leaning against her husband. She rubbed soothing circles on his back. Their daughter was still asleep in his arms, and thankfully, she didn’t seem to be waking up any time soon. Marinette wasn’t sure if Damian would be willing to let Amaya go, even if she wanted to nurse.

“...it...it made me think, Nettie...it made me think...if I lost you or ‘aya...I don’t…”

“Oh, mon cher,” Marinette said softly. “It’s okay. We’re not going anywhere. Amaya and I are safe, mon amour. We’re safe. I’m right here. Amaya’s right here.”

Marinette held Damian for a while as the man cried. She listened to him mutter to their daughter that he loved her, and that he'd always be there for her. She listened to him tell her how much he loved her, how he was so thankful she was his wife. She waited until he’d relaxed completely before pulling him back against her. She heard her husband chuckle for a moment and looked at him curiously.

“You know, robin chicks aren’t born with down, malāki,” he said, his voice laced with humor. “Amaya shouldn’t be this fluffy.”

“Oh, hush you! The fluff keeps her warm!” Marinette said, pecking her husband on the lips.

“I love you, Marinette. I love you more than I can say,” Damian whispered. “Thank you for giving me the most precious gift you could have given me.”

Marinette snuggled against Damian’s side and kissed him again.

“I love you too, Damian. Even if you like to poke holes in my costume decisions.”

“Baby robins aren’t fluffy—”

“Well this one is!”

Damian laughed at that. He laughed harder and louder than he’d laughed in weeks, startling Amaya. The baby mewled in displeasure, flailing her little arms which were covered in fluff. She began to wiggle in his arms, trying to communicate just how unhappy she was that she was now awake. Damian smiled down at his baby’s scrunched up face.

“I’m sorry, my little fluffy one. Your maman is silly, isn’t she? Yes, Maman is silly! You’re probably the fluffiest robin hatchling to ever exist!” he cooed, feeling the weight lift off his chest. “I love you, my little fluffy chick.”

As Amaya settled back down, Damian wrapped one arm around Marinette and pulled her close. The little family cuddled, no longer caring who saw them now. All that mattered was that Damian still had his family. His wife and child were safe. They were here, and alive, and things were going to be okay.

And if someone were to see them from the hall, they said nothing. 


	11. Day 11: Snow- Amaya Wayne AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A morning with Damian, Marinette and their kids. A special thanks yo EthelPhantom for helping me out with naming the second baby!!!

"ABUN! ABUN! THERE'S SNOW!" a shout came from down the hall.

Damian looked up from his work to share a glance with his wife. They both smiled as they heard little feet come racing down the hall, knowing what was coming. Damian put away his files while Marinette moved to start breakfast. He felt his youngest stir from her place on his shoulder, the one year old lifting her head up to look at her father. 

Sure enough, their eldest, Amaya, burst into the dining room with her mother's smile plastered over her face. The seven year old's jade green eyes locked onto her father, and she immediately made a beeline for him. Her wavy black hair was frizzy, but Damian knew that could be fixed with a simple brushing. 

Damian sighed, looking at the bat-themed pajamas his daughter was sporting. They were clearly a gift from Grandpa Bruce. Damian's only solace would be that Alfred would have ensured she had ALL their alter-egos on themed pajamas so no one would feel left out. However, Alfred themed pajamas would have been preferable to Damian.

"Abun! Abun, it's snowing! Can we play outside after breakfast, Abun? Pretty please, Abun?" Amaya begged. "Maman, bought Séraphine a snowsuit, so she can come play too!"

Upon hearing her name, Séraphine turned her sleepy grey eyes towards her sister. She was almost the spitting image of her mother aside from her skin, which was slightly darker thanks to Damian's genetics. However, she had her father's disposition rather than her mother's. 

Séraphine grimaced at her older sister before burying her head back into Damian's shoulder. 

"Tired," was all the little girl responded with. 

Amaya pouted before racing into the kitchen. Damian could hear her begging Marinette to make Séraphine play with her. Said child lifted her head back up, looked at her father and declared that 'maya loud'. Damian chuckled before telling her that Amaya was just excited for the snow. Séraphine scrunched up her nose before tilting her head to the side. The little girl shook her head and said, “Cold, Abun.”

“Ah, you don’t want to go outside because it’s cold?” Damian asked her.

Séraphine nodded, still pouting. She snuggled into her father’s shoulder once again, keeping a tight grip on her abun. She was nice and warm in her abun’s arms. She was in her kitty onesie that her uncle Adrien had bought her, and she didn’t want to change. She wanted Abun to keep holding her while they stayed nice and warm inside.

Marinette walked back into the room with Amaya trailing after her. Marinette was carrying a stack of pancakes while Amaya carried the maple syrup. The dark haired woman kissed the top of her youngest’s heads and kissed her husband on the cheek. She quickly set down the food and went back in for plates, and Amaya followed her mother while she sang about forks.

When the pair returned, Amaya helped her mother set the table before sliding into her seat with a huff.

“Now, what’s the matter, Albi?” Damian asked as he strapped Séraphine into her highchair.

“Maman said I can’t play in the snow!” Amaya grumbled.

“Babybug, I told you while we were making pancakes,” Marinette began. “We have to leave after breakfast. Don’t you want to see Grandpa Bruce? He told me Uncle Dick and Aunt Kor’i will be there, and they’re bringing Mar’i. I’m sure she’d love to play in the snow with you, as would Uncle Tim and Uncle Jason.”

“What about Séraphine?”

“Séraphine will probably stay inside with your father. Give it a year or two, Babybug. She’ll be more than willing to play with you then,” Marinette sighed, giving Séraphine her plate.

Said child immediately began eating her pancakes, not paying any mind to her sister or mother.

“Eat, Albi. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can go to grandpa’s,” Damian told his daughter. “Then you can play in the snow all you want...or until great-grandpa says so.”

Amaya nodded solemnly. Even though Alfred was becoming quite elderly, even the youngest members of the Wayne family knew not to try their luck with him. She began to eat her pancakes while Marinette filled Damian in on Alfred’s plans for the evening. Amaya was still disappointed she couldn’t immediately go outside, but she loved seeing Grandpa Bruce. She was excited to see him, and everyone else, but she really wanted to play in the snow.

Both parents quickly scarfed down their breakfast, knowing that the second Amaya was done, she’d want to start getting ready to go. Once everyone had finished eating, Damian offered to do the dishes while Marinette got the girls ready to go. Marinette smiled brightly at that and kissed his cheek. She gently plucked up Séraphine from her high chair and told Amaya to follow her.

Damian thanked his lucky stars that he got a moment of silence as he did the dishes. He could hear his wife getting the girls ready. He could hear Amaya arguing with Marinette on what to wear as well as Séraphine’s cries of distress. He figured that Marinette was changing her, and he knew his youngest hated being cold. Amaya continued to argue until Marinette told her eldest that if Amaya didn’t wear the outfit, her grandpa would be very sad since he was the one who bought it.

He heard his youngest stop crying and assumed that Marinette had finished dressing her. Once he’d finished washing the dishes, Damian dried his hands off and walked into their room. Marinette quickly handed a newly dressed Séraphine to him, asking if he could put her boots and coat on. Damian nodded once before looking at Amaya, who had finally put on the dress.

“How can I play in the snow if I’m wearing a stupid dress!” Amaya complained, seeing her father.

“Albi, how about this? You go get your coat and boots on, and we will bring you a change of clothes. Then you can play in the snow when we get there,” Damian said, bouncing Séraphine slightly.

Amaya looked up at her father and nodded with a big smile on her face. She ran out to go put her coat and boots on. Damian followed her out to grab Séraphine’s coat and boots. He gently slipped on Séraphine’s boots as the toddler frowned. He grabbed her coat and hat and put those on her, thankful that the little one was at least in an agreeable mood.

Marinette, thankfully, came out with the children’s bags all ready to go. She pulled on her coat before taking Séraphine from Damian and holding out a hand to Amaya. She waited until her eldest had taken her hand before leading the charge to the car. Damian threw his coat on and followed his wife and daughters. He paused for a moment as he locked the door, looking around.

Snow covered every surface imaginable, white and shimmering in the sunlight. Imprinted in the snow along the walkway was the footprints of his wife and eldest daughter. Looking towards the car, he could see his eldest with her head tilted back, trying to catch the falling snowflakes as his wife put their youngest in her car seat. The second Marinette stood upright, the white flakes landed in her dark hair, standing out.

Marinette smiled at him before telling him to hurry up. As he walked towards the car, he couldn’t help but agree a little bit with his youngest.

The snow was rather cold.


	12. Day 12: Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian is so not jealous...

He was not jealous.

He was not jealous.

He WAS NOT JEALOUS.

Okay! So maybe he was a little jealous, so sue him!

A brown and white cow was currently laying down on some blankets in the Batcave. A brown great dane and a german shepherd were laying down beside her. The great dane was by the cow’s front legs and the german shepherd was laying towards the cow’s back legs. A black and white cat was also napping with the group, on someone’s lap.

In the middle of the huddle was a very exhausted looking girl with dark black hair. She was currently fast asleep, bandages peeking out where the blankets did not cover. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her skin looked pale. Her dark hair was loose, falling all around her face.

Damian felt his blood boil a little, remembering his earlier conversation with Drake.

Drake had been assigned a mission with Ladybug, rather than Damian. Red Robin and Ladybug had been sent to investigate a shipment of rare butterflies. Ladybug believed Hawkmoth was getting his butterflies from America, and this shipment fit the bill. Red Robin had volunteered to track the shipment, trying to find the seller. They figured that once they found the seller, they’d be able to identify the buyer.

But things had gone sideways. 

Ladybug had been badly injured, and Red Robin had been forced to retreat. He’d brought her back to the cave, and when her transformation fell, they were shocked to discover that Ladybug was Damian’s girlfriend of two months, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Jason had taken over at that point, being the only one of the BatClan able to shake off the shock. He quickly patched up Marinette, only for the girl to insist that she stay in the Cave with them.

They’d all been against it at first until the Bat-pets came into the cave. Batcow had been the first to lay down, and Marinette had bullied Jason into laying her down next to the cow. Batcow had allowed Marinette rest against her. Ace and Titus had immediately laid down on either side of Marinette. Both hounds had waited for Jason to cover Marinette with a blanket before resting their muzzles on her lap. Alfred the cat had soon made his appearance and snuggled on top of Marinette’s lap. 

They had refused to move from their assigned places, leaving Damian firmly out. Damian had tried to move one of the dogs, but both Ace and Titus remained firmly where they were. The closet Damian could get to Marinette was by laying over Titus. It seemed that all the animals were determined to keep Marinette comfortable and warm while she rested.

Jason had laughed at Damian, telling him that his pets had chosen his girlfriend over him. 

That wasn’t the part that made Damian jealous. He could completely understand why they would choose Marinette. He chose Marinette after all! He chose her because she was sweet and kind and full of courage. He wanted to keep her close and safe just as much as his animals did. He was not jealous that the pets had chosen Marinette.

No, Damian was jealous that he didn’t get to join in.


	13. Day 13: Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to the prompt, there is no character death!!!! Huzzah!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late guys! I had plans to make cookies with my grandma, mom, and sisters.

From Damian’s earliest memories, he’d been surrounded by death.

His grandfather was Ra’s al Ghul after all. Death was the business of the League of Assassins in which they were second to none. Even his mother, Talia, had assisted in training Damian in the art of killing. From the time he was able to hold a weapon, Damian had been taught how to kill. He could kill with or without a weapon. He knew ways to torture someone to death and ways to make a completely clean kill.

The only thing being with his father had changed was the fact that Damian was no longer the one killing. Gotham’s Rogues, gangs, and criminals killed plenty of innocent civilians. He’d seen the aftermath of their work. He’d even seen the aftermath of some League missions. 

Damian had nearly been killed several times. He had actually died once, only to be revived. Damian knew death better than probably anyone else, except for perhaps Todd. He had become so familiar with it that he thought his entire life would be devoted to it. Damian couldn’t see any other path.

Then he met a girl in scarlet.

She was a small, petite girl, dressed in a red and black bodysuit. Her torso was completely red, while her arms and legs were pitch black. She had translucent wings and a devil may care smile. Her mask was red with black spots that exposed two unearthly grey eyes. Her hair had been pulled up tight into a bun, a red ribbon holding it in place.

She called herself Ladybug.

This Ladybug had appeared out of nowhere, but casualties were always low whenever she was around. Plants would perk up in her presence. Animals were drawn to her. Babies and children adored her. People who told her about their troubles credited the scarlet being for fixing them. She seemed to radiate kindness and light from her very being. Even vigilantes had an easier time with her around.

Grayson had asked her once how she managed not to get caught or too badly wounded. The scarlet girl had just smiled and replied that she was very lucky. After that, the tabloids began calling her Gotham’s very own Lady Luck. Damian had scoffed at that. No one could be that lucky or that kind, and sooner or later, she’d show them all her true colors.

Ladybug most certainly showed Damian her true colors...just not as Ladybug.

Damian had been caught up in bank robbery, courtesy of Two-Face. In order to bargain with Gotham PD, he’d thrown out all the men in the bank, keeping only the women and children. Damian had been torn about the whole thing. On one hand, being in the bank meant Two-Face had thought of him as a child, which was insulting, and he couldn’t change into his Robin costume. On the other hand, being inside the bank meant he knew what was going on, and he could get info out to the others.

It wasn’t until Two-Face had tried ripping a young girl from her mother’s arms that Damian saw her. The woman had tried to fight back, crying and pleading with two face not to hurt her baby. When the man had raised his gun, a tiny Chinese teen had pushed herself between them.

“Monsieur, take me! I’ll tell the police anything you say,” she had said, pushing the child firmly behind her. “After all, they wouldn’t want an international incident, would they?”

Two-Face had smiled at that and grabbed her by the upper arm. The girl had given them a reassuring look, mouthing “It’s okay” to the mother and child. Two-Face had led her towards the lobby, and that was the last Damian saw of her until Tim and Steph appeared to take care of the thugs keeping them captive. Damian had shoved his adopted brother aside and raced out to see the teen hidden behind some garbage cans.

Before he had the chance to call out to her, the teen had been surrounded by a flash of light. When the light had disappeared, there stood Ladybug. His jaw nearly dropped when Ladybug had darted into the fray, ripping guns out of people’s hands before they even knew she was there. She had moved with an intensity that made it impossible for Damian to take his eyes off of her.

She had been bright scarlet in a sea of black, brown, grey, and blue. She had been brilliant, vibrant, and  _ alive. _

Damian had waited for her.

She had come out of the building holding the little girl whose life she’d probably saved, while allowing the girl’s mother her shoulder to lean on. She had followed Tim out of the building. The other captives and Stephanie had followed in suit. There had been no casualties. The little girl had asked Ladybug about the girl who saved her from Two-Face.

“Don’t you worry, I made sure she was safe before I came to help,” she had said, trying to soothe the child’s fears. “She was the one who told me you were in trouble.”

After making sure everyone had gotten to either the police or an ambulance, Ladybug had taken off. She’d dropped into her previous spot and detransformed. She had then pulled out a cookie from her purse and fed a strange little red bug-like creature. Once it had finished eating, she moved to go back out into the public as herself.

Damian had taken that moment to show himself.

“Who are you?” he had asked her, voice low and calm.

The girl had nearly jumped out of her skin. The black haired girl had then fixed him with a hard glare, those slate grey eyes never leaving his. She had a sweet-looking face with a button nose and petal pink lips that were pressed into a hard line. Her hair was now in pigtails with red ribbons, and she had been wearing a black jacket, white shirt, and pink jeans with ballet flats. A pink purse had been at her side.

“Who are you? And how long have you been there?!” she had demanded.   
  
Damian had made a split second decision, one that he’d never fully understand until much later.

He had unbuttoned the top of his shirt to reveal the torso of his Robin uniform. Her eyes had grown wide before smiling shyly at him.

“Well, as you, uh, probably saw, I’m Ladybug?” she had giggled nervously. “And you probably want to know my story now, huh?”

Oddly enough, at that moment Damian hadn’t cared. He hadn’t wanted to know anything, save her name at that moment in time. He had learned her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng and had gotten a date with her as well. 

The date had been everything Damian wished for. Soon the bleak colors around him began to brighten. The dark night sky was made brighter by the scarlet figure that danced across Gotham’s skyline. She continued to be just as kind and compassionate as she was that day. In this city of death and crime, Marinette was truly full of life and genuine goodness.

And for once, Damian’s focus was the bright scarlet color of life instead of the dreary black of death.


	14. Day 14: Power-Swap AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was hard. I'm sorry it's short.

Damian shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. He looked at Jon nervously before crossing his arms. He wasn’t sure about this. He didn’t know if they could be trusted. How did Jon even find these people? Who exactly were these Parisian vigilantes and what would they get for helping them?

Damian was certain Dick, Jason, Tim, and Bruce would begin looking for him soon if they didn’t hurry up. He didn’t want to meet up with these people, but Jon said they needed help. It was true, they weren’t any closer to the Death’s Head then they were before, but how could these people help.

“Nightstalker? Red Beetle?” a quiet voice asked. “We received your message.”

Damian turned his cat green eyes towards the shadows to see a girl in a dark red bodysuit come out of the shadows. Her boots were black with red-orange trimming, and the upperpart of her bodysuit was made of high quality kevlar. Her mask was the same red-orange as the highlights of her costume that hid her eyes from sight. Her dark black hair was pulled up tightly into a bun. 

Her partner came out dressed in a catsuit not unlike his own, except his was heavily padded with kevlar as well. His cowl completely covered his hair and eyes, making them look completely white. He had his batons strapped to his belt as well as some escrima sticks. His expression was playful and light, but tinged with a seriousness.

“Phénix and Chat Noir,” the boy purred. “At your service. Why don’t you pretty boys tell ol’ Chat Noir what’s wrong?”

“Chat, stow the flirting!” Phénix demanded. “Let them speak.”

Damian’s cat ears twitched as his eyes looked over at Jon curiously. He sighed deeply as he noted Jon’s blue eyes scanned over Chat Noir’s form, taking him in inch by inch. He nearly gagged when he realized that Chat Noir was doing the same to Jon. Not that Jon’s skintight red and black polka-dotted suit hid much….

“Oh, I don’t mind all that terribly-” Jon replied before Damian cut him off.

“We need your help in locating a super-villain by the name of the Death’s Head. He’s using the Miraculous of the Butterfly to control other people to do his bidding,” Damian said, turning his attention to Phénix.

The pair began to talk to one another, leaving Jon and Chat Noir to flirt with one another. They began to discuss what the Americans did know about this villain. Damian found himself liking Phénix the longer he spoke with her. She was mission oriented, dedicated, determined, and most importantly very clever. During their first discussion, they’d managed to iron out the basics and establish a line of communication.

It felt nice to Damian, having someone who knew more or less what was going on. Damian and Jon had been tossed into this gig without any warning or plan. In fact, they weren’t even supposed to know each other’s identities! However, he and Jon had gotten into a jam, and they ended up discovering their identities. Their Kwamis reassured them they’d be okay, but stressed it was even more important now that they not get akumatized by Death’s Head.

Phénix and Chat Noir had been vigilantes on Paris’s streets for the past several years, and had been trained. The mysterious vigilante known only as Qiang had been operating in Paris for at least a decade before her partners, the Jumelles began working with her. They had then trained both Phénix and Chat Noir. Apparently, there was no one better than the lot of them when it came to detective work.

The only annoying thing was that Damian couldn’t entirely tell if Chat Noir was actually flirting with Jon or if he was just playing. They seemed rather taken with each other, and Damian wasn’t so sure how all of this would work out. He’d spoken to Phénix about it, and she seemed to share his concerns as well. 

Little did they know that Chat Noir and Jon were watching them with knowing smiles. The pair recognized their attraction to one another and accepted it. Their partners however…well, perhaps, one day they’d realize that they held hands way more often than the supposed love-birds.


	15. Day 15: If Only- College AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian meets an interesting girl in the campus coffee shop.

If only he could get her to look his way.

The gorgeous woman with long black hair, pulled into a braid, had not looked up from her laptop for a second. She had a digital drawing pad in front of her, and her stylus was moving a mile a minute. Her grey eyes darted from her screen to her hand and then back to her screen. Her cute button nose was scrunched up, and her lips were pressed into a thin line. She was wearing a thick, fuzzy, pale pink sweater and black jeans with punk-esque solid black ankle boots. 

Damian Wayne had seen her in the campus coffee shop every day since last week. Finals were coming up, so it wasn’t surprising to Damian to see new faces at the shop. Normally, he would have been so goddamn irritated with the addition of new people invading his normally quite sanctuary on campus, but she was...different.

She’d come into the shop like a hurricane, placing her stuff down at a table and getting herself all set up before going up to order her drink. When someone had tried to move her stuff, she grabbed one of the snowball decorations and PELTED it at the person before screaming, “I WAS THERE FIRST, CRÉTIN!”

Damian had to bite his tongue not to laugh hysterically as the man darted away from the small woman’s stuff. She had grabbed her coffee, sat down and immediately began working. She had continued this ritual throughout the week. He had no idea what her name was, but he was entranced by her. She had single-handedly fended off every person who came anywhere near her. 

Damian hazarded that a few were even her friends. He guessed that because her shout wasn’t as violent as it normally. He enjoyed watching this girl and her impressive caffeine intake. He figured that she might even have Tim beat with how much coffee she’d chugged in the last few hours. Damian had even watched her flip a grown man over her shoulder when they startled her in line.

He wanted to get to know the young lady.

If only she’d look up for a second!

He’d situated himself at the table across from hers, hoping to catch her eye. He then began debating whether or not he should try buying her a coffee. The only people who’d approached her were trying to ask for something. No one had tried giving her a peace offering. He got up from his seat and walked over to the barista.

“One of whatever she’s been getting,” Damian said, pointing towards the girl.

The barista raised his eyebrow before asking, “Do you have a death wish?”

“Peace offering couldn’t hurt, now could it?” he replied. “She looks like she could use another.”

The barista said nothing more and handed him the coffee.

————————————————————————————————

If only she could contact her clients!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was having the week from hell and not just because of finals. Honestly, her finals were the least of her worries! She’d already finished most of them last week. What was really giving her trouble were her commissions. Her commissions, no way to directly contact the client, and an annoying amount of missing details.

She’d gotten a commission from the Selina Wayne for the Wayne Christmas Gala coming up in about two weeks! She had tried asking Selina’s assistant for more information, but was essentially getting nowhere. Marinette needed Selina’s measurements, plus the measurements of the other Wayne family members. She had been working furiously on the designs, which had been approved, but she couldn’t MAKE them until she had the measurements!

To make it worse, everyone seemed to want her spot. Marinette had ensured to establish her dominance the first day she took the seat. Apparently, some people weren’t smart enough to realize that as they kept interrupting her work! She was so high strung that she’d even snapped at her friend, Lucy, when she came over to see how Marinette was faring. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before picking up her coffee cup.

Only to realize that it was empty.

Fuck.

Marinette would need to buy more.

Then a coffee cup appeared in her periphery, and she turned to look. Standing beside her was a rather attractive man. He had dark tan skin, sharp jade green eyes, and dark black hair. He was smiling as he held out the coffee cup. He was wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans, and converse shoes. 

Marinette raised an eyebrow, her eyes darting from the coffee to him.

“I saw you were running low,” he responded. “You looked like you were working pretty intently on something, and I thought, ‘hey, why don’t I buy a coffee for the girl who’s been giving me endless entertainment by flipping men three times her size over her shoulder like they were a stuffed animal?’ So I asked the barista to make your order.”

Marinette winced before taking the coffee cup.

“You saw that, huh?” she asked, taking a gulp.

“Hard not to,” he responded. “My name’s Damian. Wanna tell me what’s wrong? Maybe I can help?”

“Pffft, unless you can get me Selina Wayne’s EXACT measurements so I can make this goddamn dress, you can’t do shit for me,” Marinette muttered. “I haven’t slept in two days…”

The guy’s eyes widened for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face.

“Let me grab my stuff, and I’ll see what I can do,” he-Damian- replied.

Marinette rolled her eyes, fully prepared to kick his ass. What could it hurt for the moment? It wasn’t like she was getting any further on these designs today, and he did buy her a coffee. She watched Damian move his things over to her table before he pulled up a chair and whipped out his cellphone. She raised an eyebrow at him as he hit contacts, but Damian just smiled back at her before putting the phone on speaker.

“Is something wrong, little kitten? You don’t usually call me while you’re on campus?” a concerned voice asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Selina. So, did you order your gown for the gala yet?” Damian asked, winking at Marinette.

“...yes? Damian, you know I did. I had your father’s assistant order us all clothes. Why is something wrong? I commissioned MDC, you know. That designer is very hard to get a hold of-”

“Selina? Did you give the assistant measurements they could send to the designer?”

“...oh shit. I knew I forgot something!”

Damian laughed before asking Selina if she’d be available for a fitting today.

“...little kitten, we don’t even know who MDC is-”

“Leave that to me.”

Marinette stared in shock as he hung up. She watched him hold out his hand and ask for a do-over.

“Hi, my name’s Damian Wayne,” he replied. “You’re making that dress for my step-mom. I’d very much like to go out with you sometime. I could start by taking you to get those measurements you need.”

Marinette shook his hand, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng...and that would be really nice of you.”


	16. Day 16: Hogwarts AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is an enigma. Damian doesn't realize things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, some warnings for y'all:  
> Some implied sexual content (nothing graphic)  
> Vomiting

Damian Wayne could not begin to explain the enigma that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

From the gossip vine, he had heard the Chinese-French girl had transferred suddenly from Beauxbatons Academy. No one knew the reason, and there really wasn’t any conjecture...out loud. Whispers carried rumors around, but everyone who had come into contact with Miss Dupain-Cheng would violently tear them and their teller apart if they weren't careful. One unfortunate Gryffindor had been stupid enough to say she got kicked out for sleeping with a teacher with Marinette nearby. Her eyes had watered, and she’d curled into herself upon hearing those words.

At least six other students had begun shouting at him, and one of his own house had even tried to hex him. They had formed a protective barrier around her almost immediately, even though the little lady had asked them not to hurt the boy who had spoken poorly of her. She had told them while it was rude that did not give them the right to hurt him. She had insisted that rumors were just rumors, and it was expected since she was new.

Damian had suspected the girl didn’t have a spine until he caught sight of another incident.

A first year Slytherin student had been picked on by some upperclassmen. Damian had said nothing as it wasn’t his job to protect the first years. That’s why they had Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl in each house. He had gone to walk away when he spotted the strange new exchange student.

Clad in her yellow plaid skirt, white button up, and black sweater, the five foot tall girl had stomped up to the upperclassman. Her hair had been pulled up into a tight bun, revealing her fair face and bright grey eyes that were narrowed with fury. The little Hufflepuff had her wand out, and she demanded they leave the poor little boy alone. Her glare turned deadly when they had laughed, and Damian had watched Marinette hex them faster than he could blink.

Damian had then watched Marinette comfort the little eleven year old. She had asked him if he was alright, and if he wanted her to walk him back to their dormitories. The first year had nodded timidly, and Marinette had simply soothed the boy’s fears. She had then stated she couldn’t stand liars or bullies and told the boy not to thank her when he started to cry his thanks. Marinette had said that anyone would have done so, but Damian and the Slytherin first year strongly disagreed. 

It seemed Marinette was more than willing to go to bat for anyone else  _ except _ herself. She had defended several other students in a similar manner, and Damian found himself keeping a close eye on the strange Hufflepuff. Every time someone directed a comment towards her relating to the reason for her transfer, Marinette would completely shut down. She would become very upset, and the people she’d befriended would jump to defend her. Otherwise, Marinette would send the person a glare or roll her eyes before continuing on with her business. The hexes went flying only if someone else was threatened in Marinette's presence. 

To be fair though, Marinette had plenty of people willing to hex others on her behalf, so maybe that why he never saw her hex anyone on her own behalf. 

He began to hang around her more, noting they had several shared friends. Damian and Marinette did not converse very often, however. More often than not, Damian would just sit quietly beside Marinette while they did work. They would go silently to the library together, and occasionally discuss their homework assignments. Marinette seemed to be at ease around him though, which made him extremely confused. 

Damian wasn't exactly known for being a friendly person. His housemates in Slytherin weren't afraid to tell him so, and there were plenty of students who avoided him. Damian didn't take anyone's crap and had little time for political games. People who wanted to be his friend only for the benefit of having a Wayne as a friend could jump into the lake. Damian was considered the resident Ice King, turning down almost every girl who's asked him out. He was known for breaking hearts and fingers. No one messed with him, so he was confused as to why this seemingly anxious Hufflepuff would be at ease with him.

It was odd to the others who knew Damian as well. Several of his housemates had even begun to joke that he was in love with Marinette, seeing as he tolerated her presence. While he wouldn't use the word love, Damian would say he did more than tolerate her presence. He thought fondly of her as Marinette was a very intelligent and interesting girl. Their discussions, while about homework, were some of the most in-depth conversations he'd had in a long time. It also didn't hurt that she didn't seem to care about his family's name. 

Marinette had asked him a few times about them, and every time, she would roll her pretty eyes at his answer. She would then tell him that she wasn't asking about Wayne Enterprises; she was asking what his family was like. She had said she wanted to know what they did for fun, did they share any hobbies, did they play Quidditch together, things like that.  Marinette had then said she was an only child and wondered what having siblings was like. She laughed for the first time around anyone when Damian had offered his siblings up. Her laughter had made his chest feel light, not that he would admit that to anyone. 

Damian then noticed gifts appearing in his dorm room. He’d looked at his one roommate, Felix, with a raised eyebrow. Felix had just shaken his head and told him that he knew nothing about the gifts. They were rather nice gifts, simple but clearly had a great deal of effort put into them. He received an emerald green and silver knit hat, along with a matching scarf. They were handmade and very warm. Damian began wearing his almost religiously, and one day noticed that his best friend was wearing a very similar hat and scarf, but in his house’s colors.

“Where’d you get those, Kent?” he asked.

“Nettie made them for me! She’s such a sweetie,” Jon chirped, adjusting his dark red and gold scarf. “She noticed my old ones were falling apart, so she made me replacements. You two seem to get along pretty well, so I betcha those were from Nettie too! It looks like her handiwork.”

Nettie was Jon’s cutesy nickname for Marinette.

Damian felt a funny feeling in his stomach. At first he was concerned he was getting sick, but it didn’t feel like nausea. He didn’t feel like he was going to vomit, but couldn’t quite place the sensation he was feeling either. He almost didn’t believe it, except for the fact that the gifts were too similar for them not to both be from Marinette. 

She had made him these nice gifts?

“Oh! Nettie said to meet her by the kitchens before dinner! She said she could get us inside," Jon added with a grin.

Oh, Marinette was  _ more  _ than able to get inside the kitchens Damian discovered. The second the house elves saw her, cheerful voices called out the young lady’s name. The elves practically  _ swarmed _ them, greeting Marinette brightly and asking her who these people were with her. A few elves even asked if Marinette had brought them presents!?

Marinette laughed brightly (it was the happiest Damian had ever seen her) and told the elves that they were her friends, Damian and Jon. She then gave several knitted hats, socks, or sweaters to some of the elves. Upon seeing Damian’s confused look, Marinette explained that the freed elves who chose to work at Hogwarts had asked her for clothes after learning she could knit. The other elves had rejected her offers, and Marinette told them she never pushed. In return, the elves let Marinette help bake goodies.

Damian was personally shocked at being called her friend. They really didn’t talk as much as she and Jon did. He wasn’t warm and fuzzy like Jon was. He wasn’t bright and full of goodness like Marinette was. He stared at the young witch, confused and strangely...happy.

“Soooooo, Nettie? You like Dames, right?” Jon asked from his seat.

Marinette looked up from the dough she was making before tilting her head in confusion.

“Dames got some gifts from an unknown sender. Looked like your handiwork,” Jon said, ignoring Damian’s hiss of irritation.

Marinette blushed before looking back at her dough. She kneaded it a little bit before whispering, “Yeah, he's very nice to me. He doesn't ask about why I left Beauxbatons… and people don't ask me things when he's around."

This concerned both boys as well as the army of house elves surrounding them. 

"Miss Marinette, what things are they asking you?" one of the house elves asked, gently.

Marinette blanched before shaking her head. The fear was clear in her eyes before she said it was nothing. Her accent came in thicker like it always did when she was nervous. She changed the subject, asking Damian if she liked them. She seemed relieved when he told her he loved the scarf and hat. She would not go back to the previous topic. 

For some reason, that change in tone sent Damian on edge. Just what were they asking her to make her so scared and upset? It wasn't until Beauxbatons paid them a visit that Damian discovered what was going on. 

A girl with tan skin and brunette hair had smiled sickeningly sweet at Marinette. Her green eyes held nothing but malice towards his… friend? She'd walked over with a posse of girls following behind her, and Damian watched her shrink behind Jon in fear. 

_ "Well, well, well," _ she said.  _ "Looks like the whore found a new playmate. Which girl did you steal him from this time? I thought you'd learn after you tried to steal my darling Adrien, but I guess not. Pity you don't have any scars to remember our lesson by, but I hear word traveled fast. Anyone ask you for a blow-" _

And then the pieces clicked together. 

Damian was going to take great pleasure in watching this bitch burn. 

**Slugulus Eructo** , Damian thought viciously, flicking his wand in the brunette's direction. 

Marinette watched with wide eyes as Lila froze, putting her hand to her mouth. She began to heave for a few seconds before she threw up. Lila stared horrified at the ground for a moment before continuing to throw up. Her posse began to shriek at the sight of their ringleader puking up slugs.

Damian smiled at them before pulling Marinette out from behind Jon. He wrapped an arm tightly around her before speaking softly to her. 

"Want to go to the kitchens and see if Thimble will let us make some cookies?" he asked softly. 

Marinette smiled softly before nodding. 

"Jon, take Nettie to the kitchens. I'll join you in a moment. I need to talk to a professor," Damian said, giving Marinette a quick reassuring squeeze. 

Jon saw the look in his best friend's eyes and took Marinette without another word.

_ "Now listen and listen well," _ Damian snarled, turning his attention back to the vomiting girl and her friends.  _ "You will not harass Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You will not speak to her. You will tell people those rumors are lies. You will not speak poorly of her, or I will make you regret it." _

_ "You and what army?!"  _ another girl with glasses shouted.  _ "You attacked Lila-" _

_ "Because she attacked Nettie, and there are plenty of people who will the second I say you're bullying her,"  _ he responded.  _ "Nettie has made a lot of friends here, and the Hufflepuffs will not take kindly to an attack against one of theirs… neither will the Slytherins who have claimed her as one of our own." _

_ "You honestly like that bully?"  _ Glasses asked in disbelief. 

_ "She's not a bully,"  _ Damian snarled.  _ "And you'll cease speaking of my Nettie in such a way." _

_ "Who do you think you are?!"  _ Glasses demanded. 

_ "He thinks he's Damian Wayne,"  _ a firm voice broke in.  _ "And I think I'm Felix Graham de Vanily, prefect of the Slytherin house. I'd take Mr. Wayne's warning very seriously. We are a selective lot, and we've claimed Ms. Dupain-Cheng as one of ours." _

_ "So, your whole house will believe a liar just because you two said so?"  _ Glasses snapped at the newcomer.

_ "No, but it's really not our house you need to worry about,"  _ a blond boy said with a grin, his green eyes glittering.  _ "The Hufflepuffs will do worse to you when they figure out the disgusting things you've been saying about Marinette. Let’s go, Damian. I have work to do, and you have someone to check on.” _

Damian didn’t want to leave just yet, but he considered Felix’s words. Marinette and Jon were waiting for him. He nodded to Felix, and they began to walk away together.

_ “Aren’t you going to fix Lila!”  _ Glasses screeched.

Both boys turned and gave her a withering look before shaking their heads. As they walked, Felix turned his attention to Damian. He had a smug grin on his face, and Damian didn’t like it one bit. Felix waited until they were far enough away that the Beauxbatons girls wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“So, your Nettie, hm?”

“Fuck right off, Graham de Vanily.”

No, Damian didn't even know how to begin explaining how she'd found her way into his heart...and he'd be damned before he let anyone else hurt her.


	17. Day 17: Baking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick is shooketh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a tad different. I wanted to try writing Daminette from the view of an outside person- in this case Dick.

Dick pinched his forearm  **hard** .

The jolt of pain let him know he was wide awake.

Dick rubbed his arm as he stood perfectly still outside the doorway to the kitchen. He had to be seeing things. There was no way any of this was happening. No way. Not possible. His eyes darted around the room before someone tapped him on the shoulder. 

The eldest of Bruce Wayne’s horde looked beside him to see their faithful butler/grandfather standing next to him.

“Did you need something, Master Dick?” Alfred asked.

“...They’re in your kitchen.”

“Yes, Master Dick.”

“Damian is in your kitchen.”

“Yes, Master Dick.”

“With a girl.”

“Yes, Master Dick. That would be Miss Marinette.”

“And they’re using your kitchen...without you in it.”

“Yes, Master Dick. Miss Marinette wished to bake. Seeing as she grew up in a bakery, I trust she knows how to make cookies without burning the house down.”

Dick stared at Alfred, dumbfounded. Alfred never let anyone cook in his kitchen unless he was present. No one was to mess with any of the appliances without Alfred nearby as well. This had become a solid rule ever since he and Jason nearly burnt down the kitchen trying to make soup. So, why was Damian allowed into the kitchen? Who was the girl with him? What were they doing? Why were they baking?

“Miss Marinette?” Dick echoed.

“Yes, Master Dick. Miss Marinette is one of the French students currently participating in the exchange program at Gotham Academy. Master Damian invited her over to bake cookies as she told him she missed baking,” Alfred said. “Do be kind to her, Master Dick. Master Damian seems to be very fond of Miss Marinette.”

Fond wasn’t the word Dick would use.

His normally temperamental, hotheaded younger brother was  _ smiling _ at the young lady. Damian was following all of her instructions without hesitation. He followed her around the kitchen like a puppy, his attention solely on the girl. Every time she tried to reach for something above her head, Damian would swoop in to get it for her. All she had to do was point and Damian would do whatever she needed with an adoring look.

Dick would admit she was rather adorable. The girl couldn’t be taller than five feet with big grey eyes and a sweet smile. Her dark hair was pulled up, revealing an adorable heart shaped face with a cute button nose. Her pale pink dress was covered by a white apron, though she still had bits of flour on her dress and hair.

Damian was next to her, wearing a black sweater with the sleeves rolled up and black slacks. He had an apron on as well, but much like the girl, he still had flour on him. He was listening intently to her, watching her carefully as she added the ingredients in. He copied her as they made batter together. He playfully flicked flour at the girl, and she scolded him for wasting the flour.

Dick had never seen Damian so relaxed and content. He seemed to be enjoying his time around this Miss Marinette. He was laughing, and his body language was completely relaxed. The fact he hadn’t acknowledged that both Dick and Alfred were watching them was scaring Dick. His little brother always knew what was going on. His little brother was never caught unaware. 

But it appeared that for the first time in his life, Damian was thoroughly distracted by something. This something was also a girl. A very cute girl who had just kissed his cheek after he took the cookies out of the oven. Damian smiled back before kissing her forehead.

Dick began to tear up a little as he watched the pair of them before quietly slinking away from the kitchen. His little brother was finally acting like a teenage boy, and Dick was not about to ruin the moment for them. He also made a mental note to tranq Jason and Tim, emphasis on Jason. Dick really didn’t want anything to ruin the moment. 


	18. Day 18: Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's cold.

Marinette was freezing.

Despite the lobby being heated, Marinette was still freezing. The door opening and closing let in the harsh freezing air from outside. Her grey eyes scanned the scenery outside, noting it was still snowing. She prayed the snow would stop soon, but after talking to a few of the local She had no idea why she agreed to this.

“Nette! My rockin’ little niece, how have you been?” a cheerful voice greeted. “Are you ready to dazzle them all?”

Looking to her right, she spotted her favorite rockstar and unofficial uncle, Jagged Stone, strolling towards her in his suit. It was the slim fit style they had agreed upon with peak lapel. It was made with ombre fabric that went from black to purple (per Jagged’s request). The stitching was done with almost iridescent thread that also shimmered in the light. His pants were made of the same material with black dress shoes to tie it all together.

The black and purple haired man was followed closely by his agent and new wife, Penny. Her dress was made of similar fabric to Jagged’s suit, fading from black to purple. It was a mermaid style dress that highlighted her curves. She wore a black coat over it, and she was buttoning it as they walked over. The pink haired dark skinned woman smiled brilliantly at Marinette. 

“Oh, Marinette! You look gorgeous, sweetie. Are you sure you’re up for this? It’s okay if you’re not,” Penny said sweetly.

Marinette shook her head before replying, “It will be fine. I’m very honored that you and Jagged invited me to this gala.”

“Of course, Nette! My ol’ pal Brucie knows how to throw a rockin’ party,” Jagged said brightly. “It wouldn’t be complete without you though! Plus, Brucie was asking where I got my threads from. Now’s your chance to show off!”

Marinette smiled timidly as she wrapped her black shawl around her tighter. She was nervous as all get out to attend the Wayne Gala. Jagged and Penny had invited her to attend the gala with them after commissioning her for their outfits. Jagged insisted, saying he would pay for everything and telling her parents that this could be a great opportunity for Marinette. Her parents had been worried about her going over to the United States, but once they heard that billionaires like Bruce Wayne wanted their daughter to design for them, they’d urged Marinette to take the opportunity.

Jagged would be introducing her as his best and favorite designer, MDC. Somehow, he’d even managed to get Bruce Wayne to agree to pick them up for the Gala. This made Marinette even more nervous. She was shivering, partially out of nerves and partially from the cold. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to act? Would they like her?

Penny linked arms with Marinette, giving the girl an encouraging smile as a black limousine pulled up. A handsome man with dark black hair and blue eyes stepped out, smiling brightly at Jagged. He gestured for someone else to step out of the car, and a boy came out. He was just as handsome as the man before him, but his skin was a darker tan and his eyes were a brilliant jade green. His dark black hair was slicked back, and he seemed to be surveying the scene, a hot drink in his hand.

“Jagged!” the man greeted, holding out his hand.

“Brucie, my man! How has business been?” Jagged replied, shaking the other man’s hand. “Who is this rockin’ lil’ man?”

“This is my son, Damian,” Bruce replied. “Damian, this is Jagged and Penny Stone. And business has been well. Penny, you look lovely as ever. Congratulations on your marriage. I apologize for missing the wedding, but unfortunately business in Gotham never sleeps.”

“Thank you, Bruce,” Penny said. “It’s very nice to meet you, Damian. This is the designer Jagged keeps raving on about, Miss MDC.”

Bruce turned his attention to Marinette before holding out his hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” he said. “I take it you designed the Stones evening wear for this event?”

“Oui, Monsieur Wayne,” Marinette responded. “I also designed my own dress for this evening.”

“I can see then why Jagged wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Bruce said with a grin. “You’re quite a talented young lady. Isn’t she, Damian?”

—————————————

Damian was quite annoyed.

Sure, it had already been agreed upon that he would attend this gala with Bruce, but why did that excuse the others? Sure, Dick and Tim were on patrol duty, but why did Jason, Cass, Steph, and Barbra get out of going? Steph and Barbra may not technically be Waynes, but they were close enough to the family to be able to be invited without raising too much suspicion.

These galas were always annoying. He hated how fake the people there were. No one really cared about the money that was being raised or what charity it was for. It was just a tax break for most of those people, and Damian really didn’t want to see women throw themselves at his father. He really didn’t want to see people throw themselves at him either.

When his father told him they were picking up an old friend of his, Damian had to resist rolling his eyes. He really didn’t want to meet anyone, but then his father told him they would be picking up Jagged Stone, his wife, and the mystery designer of his. Damian was now only excited to meet Jagged Stone and his designer so he could rub it in Dick and Tim’s faces. They were huge fans, and Damian would get to meet them before Dick and Tim. 

The last thing Damian expected was to be greeted by one of the most gorgeous human beings he’d ever laid eyes on. She was dressed in a mermaid style dress much like Jagged’s wife, except for her ombre was a brilliant red that faded into black. Her hair was pulled up into a bun with two gold hair sticks in it. She had the most beautiful grey eyes that were shyly looking around.

Damian watched her converse with his father before noticing the gorgeous woman was freezing. She was shivering, even with her heavy shawl. Damian shrugged off his suit jacket, putting his cup on the car roof. He heard his father ask him a question, but instead of answering, Damian walked over and draped his jacket overtop of her.

“You look like you’re freezing. Why don’t we get in the car, Father? It’s rather cold, and we don’t want to be late,” Damian replied, holding out his hand to her. “But yes, Miss MDC, you’re very talented, and that dress is absolutely stunning on you.”

He watched the gorgeous woman flush a brilliant red. She shyly took his hand, and he assisted her into the limo. He grabbed his cup before pressing it into her hands. When she gave him a curious look, Damian smiled reassuringly.

“It’s just hot chocolate, Miss MDC. Take it, you could use something to warm you up.”

His stomach churned as her lips stretched into a smile.

“Merci, Monsieur Damian.”

“You’re welcome, Miss MDC.”


	19. Day 19: Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is mischievous.

Marinette was up to something.

It made Jason nervous.

He could see the mischievous glint in her eyes, and he feared for their safety. Marinette was an extremely clever young woman. She’d proved that to the Wayne family time and time again. If she were plotting something, than it was uncertain if any of them were safe. Jason figured he might as well ask her about it. If he was lucky, Jason might be able to get in on the plot instead of being one of the casualties.

“Hey, Cakepop? What’s going on?” Jason asked.

Marinette smiled a devilish grin before putting a headband on. This headband was green...and had mistletoe dangling from it. Marinette then made a surprise sweep for his legs. Jason hit the floor in shock before feeling a pair of lips on his forehead. Was she kissing his forehead?!

“Joyeux noël!” Marinette chirped, skipping off.

Jason scrambled to his feet. He had to follow her! He HAD TO GET PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE! If Marinette was going to go around kissing people, he had to get photos! He would need these as blackmail later! He ran after her, only catching up to her because she stopped to give Alfred a kiss on the cheek. Alfred returned her kiss with one to the top of her head.

“Joyeux noël, Alfred!"

“A Merry Christmas to you too, Miss Marinette,” Alfred said with a smile. “Please, do make sure you include Master Damian, Miss Marinette. Otherwise, he may be very cross.”

“Fret not, Alfred. Damian will get his turn,” Marinette replied, skipping off.

Marinette had found Dick in the kitchen. She had snuck up behind him before jabbing him in the sides. She elegantly sidestepped his surprised swings before he fell over in shock. Dick realized it was Marinette and opened his mouth to scold her. Marinette stopped him by leaning over and pressing a kiss against his forehead.

Jason snapped a photo from where he was hidden, stifling his laughter. Dick’s blue eyes were wide, his jaw dropped. Jason sniggered when Marinette practically sang merry Christmas while shaking her head. Jason noticed exactly when Dick noticed the mistletoe. The eldest sibling sighed before requesting that next time, Marinette just asked him for a kiss rather than surprising him.

Marinette pouted, saying that wasn’t as fun before telling him she was going to go find Tim. Jason followed Marinette to the Batcave, where both Bruce and Tim were working at the batcomputer. She skipped in, catching Bruce’s eye. Tim seemed to be too focused on what he was doing to notice her entrance. She smiled at Bruce before pressing a finger to her lips.

Bruce smiled as Marinette snuck up behind Tim. He and Jason watched as Marinette kissed Tim’s cheek. Jason snapped a few photos, watching as his brother blinked in confusion for a few moments. His face scrunched up before he said, “Bruce…?”

“Nope,” Bruce responded helpfully.

Tim blinked a few times before turning his head. He looked at Marinette for a few moments before looking up at her headband. He swore quietly before saying, “Shit, already that time of year? Merry Christmas, Marinette.”

He kissed her forehead in response without further prompting.

Jason swore at that, realizing that he and Dick hadn’t returned her kisses. Bruce just leaned over for Marinette, allowing her to kiss his cheek. Like Alfred, Bruce then kissed to top of her forehead before wishing her a merry Christmas. Jason watched as Damian, currently in his Robin uniform, stormed into the cave, looking very annoyed.

Marinette skipped over to him, smiling brilliantly. She stopped only a foot away. Jason watched as Damian’s expression softened upon seeing his angel. The boy closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around her waist. He smiled back at Marinette before pulling her into a tight hug. Marinette hugged him tightly as well before rubbing her nose against his. Damian seemed content to just hold her close, but Marinette clearly had other ideas as she cupped Damian’s face. She took one hand and gently peeled off his domino mask, so she could see his eyes.

“Joyeux noël, mon amor,” Marinette cooed, gently rubbing his cheeks.

“Merry Christmas, my Nettie,” he responded. “So what are you doing, malāki?”

“I’m spreading the Christmas cheer!”

“And how is that?”

Marinette giggled before wrapping her arms around Damian’s neck. She gently tugged on Damian, forcing him to lean down. Their noses met again before Marinette claimed Damian’s lips. She kissed him sweetly before pulling away. 

“So you’ve been kissing my family?” Damian asked, his voice rough.

“Mistletoe tradition,” she responded cheekily. “But only kisses on the forehead or cheek. I saved that kiss just for you.”

Damian looked Marinette up and down before grinning like a madman.

“You still have that mistletoe on, so I guess tradition dictates I should kiss you more,” he whispered.

“I guess you should.”

Damian swooped in to capture Marinette in another, more heated kiss. He ignored his siblings, especially Jason and his camera, as he savored the feel of his girlfriend’s lips on his. When they broke apart for air, Damian hummed thoughtfully at the mistletoe.

He supposed not all holiday traditions were terrible.


	20. Day 20: Coffee Shop AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian will do this.

Today was the day.

Today was the day Damian was going to get the cute barista’s number.

He had finally managed to ditch his brothers. Dick was currently being held hostage by Jason, Tim, and Mar’i in the bookstore next door. It had just opened, and Mar’i had begged Dick to take her inside. Jason and Tim had invited themselves along. They partially wanted to spend time with Mar’i, but they were also excited to check out the new store. Damian figured he would go back and explore later, but now might be his only chance to go into the coffee shop without his siblings.

He’d went into the biographical section, claiming to be looking for something while Jason browsed the classical literature. Tim was over in the sciences section while Dick was with Mar’i in the children’s corner. Damian managed to sneak his way out of the shop without being detected. He let out a sigh of relief before darting into  **Wishful Charms** .

Damian looked around quickly before spotting his target. The girl was currently at the register taking orders. Damian felt his heart skip a few beats as he watched her face light up the moment she spotted him. He felt the butterflies flurry around his stomach as he waved at her. The cute barista returned his wave before continuing to take orders with a flush added to her cheeks.

She was wearing her hair in pigtails today with pink ribbons. Her pretty grey eyes were brightened and intensified by copper eye shadow. Her adorable button nose was slightly red, probably from how warm it was behind the bar with the ovens and coffee machines. She was wearing lip gloss that day that shimmered in the right light, catching Damian’s eye every time. Her white apron was stained with coffee, flour, and other baking ingredients.

Her name was Marinette, and she was the sweetest thing Damian had ever met. She had started working at the coffee shop about a month ago. Tim had brought her up several times as he was a regular at the shop. He mentioned that she was adorable and so sweet. She had apparently created a new drink for Tim that had just enough caffeine for him. He hadn’t shut up about her after that.

Dick had then dragged them (him and Jason) to meet this Marinette. Damian hadn’t been thrilled until the girl greeted Tim and began to ask about their orders. She had been so sweet and surprisingly creative. She had tried to create something for each brother, customizing the coffee orders to match. She’d even sussed him out as a tea drinker. 

Instead of giving him coffee like the others, Marinette had given Damian a cup of puer tea with peppermint, licorice roots, and clove. He had been surprised to find that he rather enjoyed the strong flavor and spice that it had. Marinette had told him she had several different teas that she’d been dying to have someone try out. Damian had offered his assistance, and thus began the Wayne family tradition of hanging out at the shop every weekend.

Damian had found Marinette’s cheerful optimism and creative new approaches to things very relaxing. She was different. There was still an intensity about her for Marinette was a very passionate person, but it wasn’t the same as being around Bruce all day. Marinette was charming and sweet, and genuinely wanted to make people happy. It was something new for Damian, and he had found himself wanting to be around her more and more.

Which lead to endless teasing from his brothers...mostly about how he’d never be able to get the cute barista to go out with him.

He vowed to get Marinette’s number to prove them wrong, but refused to let them be near him when he did so. He didn’t want his brothers trying to sabotage him or distracting Marinette. Damian breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the front of the line. His brothers were still nowhere in sight.

“Damian! How’s your day been?” Marinette asked with a smile. “It’s odd seeing you here without your brothers.”

“Yeah, Dick has Mar’i this weekend. She wanted to check out the bookstore that opened next door. Jason and Tim are checking it out as well,” Damian shrugged. “My day’s been pretty good, so far.”

“Lucky! I really wanted to see the new store,” Marinette sighed. “But I’m working all this week, and they close the same time we do. Would you like your regular tea or would you like one of my experiments?”

_ ‘Here’s my chance!’ _ Damian thought to himself.

“Could I have the puer tea you made me on my first visit? The one with the peppermint?” he asked. “Perhaps when you have a day off, we could go to the bookstore together? I didn’t spend too long in there, but it looks promising.”

‘ _ Nailed it!’ _ he thought to himself. 

“Oh! That would be wonderful, Damian!” Marinette said with a bright smile. “I’ll get your tea for you.”

The dark haired girl moved quickly to make his tea. She quickly grabbed a sharpie and wrote his order on the cup. She began to grab the materials to make his tea as a familiar voice called out his name. Damian swore quietly as he turned around to see Dick making his way over to the counter with Jason and Tim behind him. Mar’i was laying in Dick’s arms, the three year old napping.

“There you are Damian! I thought you were in the biography section of the bookstore! We looked everywhere for you!” Dick said exasperatedly. “I thought we were going to have to tell Bruce we lost you and then call Gordon!”

“Grayson, I am an adult, not a child. I can come and go when I please,” Damian hissed. “Now what do you want?”

“Have you been here the whole time, Hell Spawn?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

The only thing stopping Damian from pounding Jason into the pavement was Marinette calling his name for his order. Damian took his cup from Marinette before telling her that he would see her later. Marinette seemed to deflate a little, but said she was looking forward to seeing Damian again real soon.

As soon as they walked out of the shop, Tim rolled his eyes and asked, “Are you still trying to get a date with her? It’s not going to happen. She’s too nice to fall for the likes of you.”

That was when Damian looked down at his tea.

His order wasn’t written on the cup.

Damian’s brothers froze as a wide smile crossed his face.

Jason leaned over to look at the cup and cackled, slapping Damian on the back.

“Congrats, Hell Spawn!”

“Wait, what?!” Tim shouted.

Damian didn’t pay them any mind. All he could think about was the girl with a smile like sunshine and just what he should plan for next Saturday.


	21. Day 21: Damian's Birthday- Amaya Wayne AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a surprise. Damian's soft for his wife.

His wife was up to something. 

His daughter was apparently in on it too.

Little Amaya, now five, was avoiding him. She had been for the last few days. The dark haired girl would vanish every time Damian spoke to his wife about his birthday and upcoming Christmas plans. She always told him that she was trying to be an extra good girl for Santa, and she didn't want to hear about any surprises when Damian would try and stop her from leaving. 

His beautiful wife, Marinette, also refused to give any hints as to what his present or plans for his birthday could possibly be. The clever Parisian deflected all attempts made by Damian to gather information from her. She answered his questions with her own, and subtly changed topics from his birthday to Christmas. 

Damian's brothers were clueless as well.

Dick told him Marinette hadn't discussed anything with him. Jason was out of town at the moment. Tim hadn't left his office in a week, concerning Alfred and the rest of the family. He'd been dragged home by Cass to go to bed, so he likely knew nothing as well. 

Damian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he returned to the cave from patrol. He swore to everything good that his wife would be the death of him someday. He moved to take his uniform off when he noticed someone small sitting in Bruce's chair. He tiptoed closer until he spotted the dark hair and sweet face of his beloved. 

Marinette was dressed in fuzzy pajamas and wrapped tightly in a blanket. A plate of blackberry macarons (Damian's favorite) and a card. Clearly she'd been waiting for him to return from patrol. He checked the time, noting it was about three am, making today the 21st of December— his birthday. 

"Malāki," he said softly, gently shaking his sleeping wife's shoulder. "Why aren't you in bed?"

He watched as those slate grey eyes he adored opened sleepily. As soon as they focused on him, an exhausted smile appeared on his beautiful angel's face. She stood up and hugged him tight before whispering, "Joyeux anniversaire, mon couer."

"Thank you, but why aren't you in bed?"

Marinette pouted before replying that she wanted to be one of the first to wish him a happy birthday. She smiled up at him with an excited expression before she handed him a card. 

"This is the best I can do right now. Your birthday present isn't quite ready yet," Marinette said.

Damian paused for a moment.

That was highly unusual. Normally Marinette always had people's presents ready far in advance to their birthdays. Was something wrong with his beloved-?

Damian shook off the thought by reminding himself that his wife had been extremely busy with Christmas commissions. He instead opened his card, freezing as he opened it. His green eyes darted from the picture in the card to Marinette before he managed to croak out, "How long-?"

"About a month. Amaya knows, but I figured you probably knew that. "

Damian couldn't help the sob that passed his lips as he grabbed his wife. He held her tightly as he pressed kisses to her forehead. He didn't even notice as Dick and Bruce returned from patrol, too busy with crying while holding his wife. 

This concerned both his father and his brother until Marinette kissed Damian. 

"I hope you can wait another eight or so months for your present, Dami. There's no way I could possibly rush this delivery." 

Damian gave a watery laugh before responding, "I love you, Malāki. Thank you for blessing me once again."

"Uh, baby bird? Is something-" Dick began before Damian turned to look at his eldest brother and father. 

"Nothing's wrong. Marinette has just given me one of the best birthday presents I think I'll ever receive," he said, holding out the photograph. 

Bruce looked at it before smiling broadly at his youngest child and daughter-in-law. 

"Congratulations," he said, voice warm.

Dick was nearly vibrating out of his costume before throwing his hands in the air and shouting, "I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE AGAIN! Oh, Mar'i is going to be so excited to have another cousin!"

Marinette smiled as the present BatClan members celebrated. All her boys seemed excited and happy at the prospect of a new child. She kissed Damian's cheek as her boys began debating whether or not the new Wayne was going to be a boy or a girl. 

Damian didn't care either way. 

All that mattered to him was that Marinette and their baby were healthy and happy. He couldn't wait to hold his new child in his arms. Hopefully, Amaya would remain positive about the new baby, but Damian still made a mental note to hug her as soon as she woke up. 

Damian had vowed to never make his children feel like his love was conditional. While the new baby would require more attention, Damian was already making plans to ensure his eldest didn't feel forgotten. 

Still, Damian allowed himself to bask in the joy this news brought him.

"I love you, Marinette," he whispered, still holding his wife. "This is the greatest gift you could have given me, and you're giving it to me again. I'll always love and protect you and our children."

Marinette kissed Damian's cheek softly. 

Happy birthday indeed.


	22. Day 22: Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late guys! Work was hella busy!!!
> 
> Marinette isn't used to being the only calm one.

Marinette always thought that no one could outdo her when it came to panicking over the smallest things. 

Then she agreed to design a wedding dress and had the experience of being the ONLY person not panicking.

The dark haired woman was holding several pins and her tape measures as she watched the bride talking with one of her bridesmaids frantically. She winced sympathetically as co-maids of honor tried to calm her down, but weren’t getting anywhere fast. The bride was frantic because she couldn’t tell if the flowers had arrived yet or not. The red haired maid of honor took a controlled breath in before kindly reminding the bride that  _ she _ had been the one to provide the flowers, and  _ yes _ , they were here. 

“Mademoiselle Kyle, please stay still,” Marinette requested. “It will be okay. Monsieur Wayne loves you very much, and I’m willing to bet he’d marry you regardless of what the decor looks like.”

“I know...I just want everything to be perfect,” her client, Selina Kyle, replied. “Marinette, I really appreciate everything you’ve done. This dress is beautiful.”

Marinette smiled as she gently fixed the tulle detachable overskirt. Mademoiselle Kyle had commissioned her after they ran into each other at the park by Marinette’s parents’ bakery. Selina had been in Paris looking for a gown for her wedding. She hadn’t been having much luck and had been lamenting out loud in the park, which Marinette had heard. 

Marinette had begun to ask the woman what was wrong with the dresses she saw. In the end, Marinette had ended up sketching out several dress ideas for her. Selina had fallen in love with aspects of several of them, and asked if she could combine certain things. Marinette had told her she could try, and Selina had loved her finished product. Selina had then inquired if Marinette knew how to make a dress or just designed.

Upon hearing Marinette was actually able to make the dress, Selina had immediately asked the young lady where her parents were. Marinette had been surprised, but told her that they were working in the bakery. Selina had asked if she could meet them, and Marinette had hesitantly agreed after Selina explained she wanted to talk to Marinette’s parents. She had led the woman to the bakery, where her parents were working on putting some finishing touches on an order.

Selina had then asked if Marinette’s parents would be comfortable if she commissioned their daughter to make her dress. She had explained that she was from the United States, and she had wanted to make sure it was okay with Marinette’s parents before she asked the girl. Selina had mentioned that Marinette would need to come to the states for the wedding and invited her parents as well. She had told them she could help cover the expenses, and she’d pay Marinette if the family accepted.

After a quick internet search, Tom and Sabine had agreed to allow Marinette to make her dress. They had been very excited that a woman such as Selina Kyle wanted their daughter to design for her. It was all over the press that she was to be wed to the billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne. There would be a great deal of rich and famous people attending their wedding, and this had seemed like a great opportunity for Marinette to showcase her work! 

Her parents were currently sitting out in the church while she worked on Selina’s gown. It was a beautiful off-the-shoulder ivory dress with long lace sleeves and a princess skirt. The dress was made of some of the most beautiful and soft lace Marinette had ever had the opportunity to work with. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, and Mademoiselle Kyle was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace.

Everything that Marinette observed was in place and fit perfectly. She only made some adjustments to fluff Selina’s tulle skirt. Marinette smiled at how lovely the older dark haired woman looked. Her short black hair was gelled so there were no flyaway hair. Selina was wearing light purple eyeshadow to highlight her gorgeous green eyes. The only thing that was out of place was the frown on Selina’s face.

“Mademoiselle, please smile,” Marinette said. “You look gorgeous. The dress is perfect. Pam and Harley had been making sure that everything else was in place. I’ve already checked all the bridesmaid’s dresses. Everything is going to be fine.”

The red headed maid of honor nodded, her green eyes looking at her best friend.

“Marinette’s right, Selina,” Pam said. “She looked over everyone’s outfits. Everything is perfect. Harley just checked on your loverboy and his children. Everyone’s ready. It will be fine.”

Selina smiled gratefully at both her best friend and the little designer.

“Thank you, Pammy, Marinette. I couldn’t have done all of this without you guys, or Harley,” she said. “Marinette...I know Harley just checked on them, but could you make sure everyone’s outfits are okay? I wanted to talk to Harley and Pam for a moment.”

Marinette exchanged a look with Pam and the blonde haired woman who’d just walked in. The blonde smiled before saying, “It’ll be alrig’ dollface! Pammy and I will make sure Kit-Kat doesn’t try to run out. You just go make sure tha boys are all pretty for our Kit-Kat here!”

Marinette nodded, noting the serious expressions on the two women’s faces. She quickly gathered her tailoring supplies before walking down to where the men were getting ready. She knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for someone to answer. She fiddled with her own sleeve for a moment before she heard the door open.

She was greeted by a handsome young man with tanned skin and beautiful green eyes. He was scowling until he spotted Marinette. His look turned curious, lifting on eyebrow.

“You’re not Harley,” he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Non, Monsieur,” she responded. “Mademoiselle Kyle sent me over to see if any of your tuxes needed adjusting or repairing. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m the seamstress Mademoiselle Kyle hired to make her wedding dress and to assist with the maid of honors dresses.”

The handsome boy was about to say something until they both heard a loud thud and swearing. The boy turned around to look inside before swearing at someone. He grabbed Marinette’s hand, pulling her inside before shutting the door quickly. He quickly introduced himself as Damian Wayne and begged her not to tell Selina what she was about to see.

What Marinette spotted was a tall man with black hair with a white strip of hair on the floor with his shirt completely ripped open. Another man with slightly long hair had a rip in his sleeve, and he was shouting at the man on the floor. Two other men were standing off to the side. Marinette recognized one of them as Bruce Wayne, Mademoiselle Kyle’s husband to be, but she did not recognize the slightly shorter man beside him.

“Todd! Drake! Stop being insufferable baboons and get over here now! You’re damn lucky Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng is here to fix your tuxedos, otherwise Selina would murder you both!” Damian snarled. “Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, I apologize for the inconvenience. They’re idiots.”

Marinette looked at the men who had all just realized she was in the room. Bruce looked apologetic as he walked over to her. He held out his hand and thanked her as she shook his hand. He told Marinette that he appreciated all the hard work she’d put into Selina’s dress as well as Harley and Pam’s dresses. He then introduced the other men in the room as his sons— Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne.

Dick greeted her enthusiastically, telling her that he loved her dresses. Jason and Tim had the decency to look ashamed of themselves as they shuffled over to Marinette. Marinette fixed them both with a severe look on her face as she grabbed Tim’s sleeve. She examined the rip before smacking him hard on the head.

“You are lucky you ripped it on the seam! Had you ripped it anywhere else, I couldn’t have fixed it without it showing!” she exclaimed, putting down her her sewing supplies.

Marinette grabbed some thread and laid it against Tim’s sleeve. Once she’d found the right shade of dark thread to use, she grabbed her sewing needles and got to work. While she was working, Marinette continued to scold Tim.

“Mademoiselle Kyle has been in her dressing room this entire time stressing about the wedding! She wants things to look nice for her special day, and you are not helping by making a mess of yourself! Just what were you and Monsieur Todd doing that caused you to rip your sleeve and for him to end up missing half his buttons!? What could have been so important that you’d ruin your father’s big day by making his soon-to-be wife upset?” she scolded, taking care to make sure her stitches couldn’t be seen.

“...we were...um…”

“Replacement and I were fighting. Nothing unusual shortstack,” Jason interrupted.

Marinette finished Tim’s sleeve before sweeping her leg out. She caught Jason’s legs, causing him to stagger before falling on the floor. Marinette grabbed his collar and yanked him upright hard.

“One, don’t call him replacement. That’s incredibly rude. Two, you shouldn’t be fighting before a wedding. That’s how things like this happen. Three, don’t call me shortstack. My name is Marinette. Four, find your goddamn buttons while you’re down there. I can’t fix your shirt without them,” she hissed, before releasing Jason.

Marinette then spun around to look at Damian. Her eyes roamed up and down him before she nodded and said, “You’re acceptable. That green tie goes well with your eyes. However, it needs to be straightened. Hold still.”

She invaded the boy’s space without a thought, quickly adjusting his tie. Marinette was so distracted that she didn’t notice the flush that had crept onto the boy’s face. As soon as she was done, she stepped back and smiled brightly at him. She told him he was very handsome and to keep himself neat.

Marinette then turned her sights on Bruce and Dick. She made small adjustments here and there before Jason came up and tapped her on the shoulder. He wordlessly held out his buttons, and Marinette snatched them from his palm. She then demanded he strip himself of the shirt and to give it to her.

“Well I can’t sew the buttons back on with you wearing it!” she told him exasperatedly when Jason tried to argue with her.

She was so focused on her work that she didn’t notice the teasing going on behind her.

Dick and Tim were poking at Damian, asking him if he was going to ask Marinette out once the wedding is over. They pointed out how lovely she looked in her dress, and that Damian should ask her out before someone else did.

Damian had to admit that they were right. Selina’s little seamstress looked like a vision in her dark red dress. It was an off the shoulder dress with sleeves that went down to her elbow and flared out. Her dress reached about mid-thigh, and she was wearing black kitten heels. Her black hair was pulled into a tight bun, though small strands were falling out as she furiously worked on fixing Jason’s shirt.

Not only was she gorgeous, but she’d also managed to take Jason down a peg. She’d scolded Tim too, which was always a bonus in Damian’s book. He shook his head and stomped hard on Dick’s foot. He then snarled that this was Selina and Bruce’s day, and he was more focused on making sure nothing else went wrong with the wedding.

Bruce said nothing at the time, but later on during the reception, he would point them out to his new wife. Selina would clap her hands together at the sight of them dancing together, and a mischievous look would cross her face. She wouldn’t tell her new husband any of her plans just yet though. She would only tell Harley and Pam for the time being.

After all, Marinette had made sure Selina got her special day, so Selina would make sure Marinette got hers.


	23. Day 23: Detective AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Private Eyes ahead! I made myself sad...warning for a character death.

Damian had never expected this outcome.

So much for being a world class detective.

He never saw the signs. How could he? She was the one thing that he never understood. She was the one person who could take his expectations and rip them to pieces. She was the one person who could point out the unusual and make it fit logically. She was his ace in the hole. She was the one who always understood that sometimes there was more than met the eye. She also understood that sometimes the improbable was actually more possible than first believed.

He had tried to understand her mind, but he just couldn’t figure out the mystery that was Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng.

Mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng had entered his family’s private eye business almost three years ago now. She had become rather famous in her homeland of France for discovering that Monsieur Agreste, a rich fashion tycoon, was responsible for the death of his wife and for stealing a priceless peacock brooch. Damian had never understood why she wanted to leave Paris, for she was now famous. She could have gotten any client she wished, charged any price for her services, but instead she had used her money to come to the United States.

When his brother asked her why she left, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng had smiled at them sadly before saying Paris had too many memories for her to stay. His father, the Private Eye better known as the Bat Man, had hired her immediately. His siblings had all seemed to get along with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng despite her cautious and guarded nature. It had seemed only Damian was uncertain whether or not she belonged with them.

Boy, had she certainly proved Damian wrong about that.

Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng had managed to wrap up six cases within her first week of working with them by thinking creatively. She saw patterns were no one else did and had a different way of viewing the world. She had easily explained to Bruce how a toy boat could have been used as the most unusual murder weapon. Thanks to her special brand of thinking, the improbable suddenly became probable.

Bruce had continued to pair her up with Damian. Damian’s own observation and analytical skills paired well with her quick thinking and creative process that made them a team to be reckoned with. Despite all of that, Damian still didn’t really know Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng. He still didn’t really understand her or why she wanted to become a private eye so badly.

Until he followed her to Paris.

Damian had found her staring quietly at a grave. She was dressed in all black, and her dark hair was pulled up into a severe looking bun. She did not seem to realize he was there as she took a deep breath and began speaking to the tombstone.

_ “Hello, Adrien. It’s been about three years now. I apologize...I...I just couldn’t stay in Paris anymore. Everyone kept asking about you...about your mother. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to grieve, _ ” Marinette began softly.  _ “I never wanted to become a private eye. I agreed to help you because you needed it. You were the curious one. You were the one determined to be a hero. You were the one who wanted to solve the world’s mysteries...you wanted to solve your own mystery and find your mother.” _

Damian watched silently as his partner began to sob violently, now understanding her a little better. He figured that she had distanced herself from her past because she was grieving the loss of someone dear. That would explain her hesitation to talk about herself or to get close to anyone. She was trying to defend herself from any more pain by ensuring no one ever got close enough for this to happen to her again. It would also explain why she left Paris- she couldn't bear to be reminded of her loss again and again.

She fell to her hands and knees. Her entire body shook with the force of her anguish as she apologized. She apologized for failing him. She apologized for not being faster or smarter. She apologized for his mother. She apologized for leaving France.

She apologized for letting him die.

That was the point Damian decided to make his presence known with a cough.

He watched as her head snapped in his direction. He watched her eyes widen in recognition before narrowing. She did not get up from her position, but she did demand to know why he was here. Damian answered her honestly. He was here because he was worried about her.

“You’ve been acting off for weeks now. Spacing out, forgetting things, losing track of your notes,” he said quietly. “That’s not like you, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng.”

Damian then walked over to her and sat down beside her. He looked at the tombstone, noting that it read  _ Here Lies Adrien Agreste. _ He quickly calculated the math before realizing that the man buried beneath them would have been their age. His green eyes locked onto her grey ones before he asked her to tell him everything.

Surprising even herself, Marinette began to tell him everything.

Adrien Agreste had been the son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. Adrien had been a childhood friend of Marinette’s, and she’d been infatuated with him. When they were ten years old, Emilie Agreste had disappeared. No one had been able to find her. There had been no evidence or clues. There had been no leads. Gabriel had told his son he knew nothing about it as well and to leave it to the authorities.

That hadn’t satisfied Adrien.

So, Adrien had asked Marinette to help him solve the mystery of his mother’s disappearance. Marinette had readily agreed, and the two had begun trying to find clues. What they hadn’t known at the time was that they wouldn’t just solve Emilie’s disappearance. They had solved several other cases before finally finding what they needed to solve Emilie’s case. They had managed to become Ladybug and Chat Noir, mysterious French private eyes who could solve any case.

They had gone to confront Gabriel Agreste about his wife’s disappearance when everything came crashing down on them. Gabriel had his wife’s preserved body in their home in a secret room. Adrien had seen his mother’s dead body and demanded that his father tell him the truth. Gabriel, not knowing Chat Noir was Adrien, had fought him. In the end, Adrien ended up with a cane sword through his chest. He had died while Marinette was busy getting the local law enforcement.

Marinette told him she’d always felt guilty about leaving him alone with his father to lead law enforcement to Gabriel’s secret room. If she hadn’t left, maybe Adrien would have lived. She had revealed herself as Ladybug after his death, and she left Paris heartbroken. Marinette explained that by continuing to be a private eye she felt as if she were keeping a part of Adrien alive and with her.

“I didn’t have the strength to come back here until now,” she admitted softly. “But I had to. I loved Adrien, and he knew it. We never had time to become a couple because of the case, and I accepted that...but now that he’s gone, it seems my heart has found itself a new cause. I had to come back here and make my amends before I could let myself move on and love again. I know he’d want me to.”

“You’ve fallen in love—”

Damian was silenced by a chaste kiss from his partner. The moment she pulled away, Marinette fixed her gaze towards the ground.

“I fell in love with you,” Marinette murmured. “I fell in love with your seriousness, your courage, your witty remarks. I was heartbroken, but you never treated me like glass. You wanted me to prove myself instead of believing the newspapers, and once I did, you treated me with nothing but respect.”

Damian listened pensively. He pondered his own emotions, trying to sort through them quickly. He most certainly didn’t mind Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng. She was a fantastic partner, wicked smart, and endlessly kind. The only thing Damian was certain of was that he did not want to take advantage of a grieving woman, so he smiled gently at her before responding.

“Mademoiselle-”

“Marinette.”

“Marinette...I’m honored by your feelings, but I do not believe now is the appropriate time for me to respond. You’re still grieving. I would be honored to take you out on a few dates though, once we’ve returned to the states. I would very much like to get to know what makes Mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng tick, but only after I know I’m not taking advantage of you,” Damian explained gently. “Deal?”

Marinette gave him a watery smile before replying, “Deal.”


	24. Day 24: Presents- Pokemon AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian wants to get Marinette the perfect present. Follows my Demi-Angel, Demi-Demon story, but can be read alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these next few prompts are going to be late! I was traveling and spending time with my family.

Damian prayed to all the deities that this would work.

He knew the odds were good considering that this was Alfred’s plan.

Damian stared at the odd pokemon in his hands. The little pokemon was a green apple-like pokemon. Her eyes appeared to be the leaves of the apple, and her little tail was wagging in what Damian hoped was happiness. She was chirping, and he had to shush the little pokemon.

“Okay, I know you’re excited, but if you don’t be quiet, you’ll spoil the surprise! Marinette’s going to love you. She’s so sweet, loving, and kind. She’ll be a good trainer for you,” Damian told the Applin. “I hope Alfred is right…”

Damian had been scouring high and low for a gift to give Marinette. Ever since his trip to Kalos’s Snowbelle city, Damian had been enamored with the dark haired girl who rescued his Woobat. He had had fun traveling around with her, Adrien, and Jon around Kalos, but unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. Damian had to return to Unova, as had Jon, but both boys had kept in touch with their Kalos counterparts. Both boys went to the pokemon center regularly to call Marinette and Adrien.

They would exchange stories with each other. Adrien had come in second in the gym challenge. He’d been disappointed, but Jon told him he should have been proud for making it that far. Marinette told them about how she almost had enough ribbons to compete for the Kalos Queen title. They were still traveling together, but now Adrien was doing the cheering for Marinette.

Lila hadn’t been a problem since that fateful day in the Snowbelle City. Both trainers had managed to get restraining orders against her. Adrien had officially moved his things into Tom and Sabine’s Patisserie, so that when two returned to Lumiose City, Adrien had somewhere to go. They were happy, but missed their boys.

Jon had told them how he was headed to Sinnoh with his mother on assignment. They were writing a piece about the myths of the region. Jon had told them excitedly about the new types of Pokemon he’d encountered since arriving. He had promised both Adrien and Marinette that he’d catch some for them. Marinette had asked for a Buneary, and Adrien had begged Jon to see if he could catch him a Ponyta.

This had made Damian extremely jealous.

He wanted to make Marinette that happy. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d received the Buneary from Jon. Jon had reassured Damian that the gift had been completely friendly, but Damian was still upset. He needed to give Marinette an even better gift than Jon had! He couldn’t be outdone by his best friend, especially if he wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend. That was what prompted his search for the best and most romantic gift he could think of.

God bless Alfred Pennyworth because in the end, he was the one who had a solution to his problem.

In Alfred’s home region of Galar, they had a special tradition/myth of their own. It was said that if one gave their beloved a pokemon referred to as Applin, then they’d be together forever. After looking into it, Damian realized that Marinette would love it, regardless of whether she knew the meaning behind it. Applin was an adorable looking thing, and with a sweet apple, it would evolve into a dragon-eqsue pokemon that had a hump that resembled an apple pie. It’s shiny form was just as adorable, being green instead of the traditional red.

Damian still wasn’t entirely sure how Alfred had managed it, but the Galar man had gotten him a shiny Applin to give to Marinette. He’s trained the tiny pokemon a little bit, but only enough to keep her from running off on them. He’d told the female Applin that she was to be a present to his beloved Marinette. He’d told the pokemon all about the Kalosian girl, and the Applin was very excited to meet her new trainer. They had been on a plane for a few hours, and Damian had finally made it to Lumiose City.

Damian was anxious to get to the patisserie to see Marinette. This would be the first time he’d be seeing her in person in almost a year. He had missed her terribly. It would be fantastic to actually be able to hug her again. His pokemon were just as excited to see the dark haired trainer again. They liked Marinette almost as much as Damian himself did.

He stared anxiously at the door before looking down at the Applin. The Applin seemed to understand, quieting down almost immediately. Damian put the little pokemon in the hood of his hoodie before taking a deep breath. He steeled his nerves and walked into the patisserie.

Damian spotted Marinette’s mother first. Sabine was running the counter with their Slurpuff, Cupcake. Cupcake was assisting in getting treats for customers while Sabine was taking money and orders. He wasn’t sure if Sabine had noticed him, but another had noticed his arrival. Tom’s Lickilicky, Pierre, had noticed Damian while bringing out a new tray of baked good.

“Lick lick icky lick icky!” he greeted after giving Cupcake the tray.

The big, round pink pokemon waddled over to him before patting him on the arm.

“Hello, Pierre. Do you happen to know where Marinette is?” Damian asked.

Pierre nodded before gesturing for Damian to follow him. He followed the pokemon into the bakery where Damian spotted a familiar blond haired boy. He was kneading dough beside a large brunet man, who Damian knew was Marinette’s father Tom. Damian wasn’t surprised to see Adrien there, but he was surprised to see Marinette focused intently on frosting some pokepuffs. He knew she was passionate about fashion design, but he hadn’t realized that Marinette was the one who came up with the frosting decorations at the patisserie.

“Lick! Lickilicky lick icky icky!” Pierre announced.

Adrien lifted his head and smiled broadly at Damian.

“Hey, Damian! Why didn’t you tell us you were coming to town?” Adrien asked. “Mind lending a hand? The holidays have got us really busy. Tom will show you what to do.”

Tom nodded with a smile before agreeing. All three men stood quietly, looking at Marinette. They were waiting for her to realize that Damian was there. She was focused so intently on the pokepuffs that, despite Damian calling her name, she didn’t realize anything. It took a loving pat from her Greninja to break Marinette’s concentration.

“Heracule, did you need something? We really need to get these pokepuffs done so that maman has enough-” she started before her Greninja gently turned her head in Damian’s direction.

Marinette dropped the piping back. Her beautiful grey eyes grew wide as she took in the site of the Unovan boy. A wide grin broke out on her face before she darted over to Damian. She wrapped him up in a tight hug before squealing that he should have called. Marinette then demanded to know why he’d made the journey to Kalos, and if his father knew about Damian’s trip.

“I didn’t call because I wanted it to be a surprise,” Damian responded. “My father knows, Malāki. I wanted to give you something, but I needed to give it to you in person.”

“A present? You got me a present?” Marinette asked with wide eyes.

Damian nodded before taking a deep breath.

“Close your eyes, Marinette,” he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

He waited until her pretty grey eyes were shut before whistling. The Applin hopped onto his shoulder and then hopped into his hands. Both Adrien and Tom looked at the little the pokemon in confusion, unsure of what it was. They exchanged a glance before Damian told Marinette to open her eyes. He held out his hands, letting the Applin squeal and chatter at the dark haired girl. 

Marinette looked at the Applin in confusion before gently taking the pokemon from him. A delicate hand looked at the tag, attached to the ribbon wrapped around it. She read what was written on the tag before her entire face flushed red. She looked up at Damian in shock before he answered her unasked question.

“Marinette, it’s been almost a year and a half since we first met. I thought you were amazing from the first time we met. I knew you were extraordinary since we first spoke. You saved my Woobat’s life, putting your own at risk. I’ve only grown more fond of you as each day passed. I enjoy talking to you, and I find you absolutely enchanting. I’d like to ask you something very important...will you be mine?” he asked, managing to keep his voice even.

Marinette gasped before grinning broadly. She wrapped her arms around him tightly before squealing, “YES! Oh, my goodness, yes!”

The Applin rested on top of her head as she hugged Damian tightly. The little pokemon happily trilled, looking around at everyone. Marinette took the Applin off of her head once she was done hugging Damin. The Applin wiggled around excitedly, jumping up and down in her hands.

“I didn’t name her yet, if that’s what you were wondering,” Damian told her. “This is a shiny Applin. Applins are pokemon native to the Galar region, which is where Alfred is from. He helped me get one just for you. With a sweet apple, it evolves into an Appletun. I thought you’d like it.”

“I love her! She’s just so cute!” Marinette said, rubbing her cheek against the pokemon. “I think I’ll call you Anais. Anais the Applin. It’s quite the romantic gesture.”

Damian flushed a little before smiling back at Marinette and Anais.

He needed to thank Pennyworth later. The Applin gift was a success.


	25. Day 25: Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, these are gonna be late and I apologize!!!! I'm trying to get caught up.

Marinette was ready to vibrate out of her skin.

This was to be the first Christmas that she’d be spending with Damian and his family. The first Christmas she’d be spending with the Waynes as Damian’s girlfriend. She was so nervous about everything that she’d barely slept. Tikki had expressed her concern several times, but Marinette said that she’d be okay in the end. She simply expressed that she wanted her gifts to be perfect for the Waynes. Despite her Kwami telling Marinette numerous times that they’d love the gifts, she was still nervous about everything. 

She had knit all of them sweaters, similar to the ones she made her father every year for his birthday. She made Bruce a plain dark black sweater. Damian had told him those made up most of his father’s wardrobe, though he needed a thicker one. She made Dick a black sweater with a cerulean blue stripes going across his chest. The middle one was the thickest and there were two smaller stripes, one above and one below the thick middle stripe. Damian had suggested she add blue, and Marinette liked the result. 

Jason’s and Tim’s were harder because Damian had suggested red for both of them. Marinette managed this by using different designs for both of them that used red and black. Jason’s was mostly black with red lining the collar, bottom, and the cuffs. With Tim’s, she tried something she hadn’t before. She used ombre yarn that faded from black to red to make Tim’s sweater. That way, both boys would have red, but would also be able to tell their sweaters apart.

Damian’s sweater was different from all the others in that it was not black at all. Damian wore enough black in Marinette’s opinion (they all did honestly, but Damian was her boyfriend, and she didn’t feel bad about trying to influence him into wearing other colors) so she didn’t want to make it in black. She made it in a dark emerald green yarn with silver yarn making a looping design on the cuffs of the sleeves and the bottom of the sweater.

Marinette had even made Alfred a sweater in a dark royal blue. Everything was wrapped and prepared for her to go the manor. She had even packed some Christmas cookies that she had baked. Damian had told her that she didn’t have to bring anything, but Marinette didn’t feel comfortable showing up without anything. She had carefully handpicked everything to ensure she had the perfect gifts for them, but she was still anxious about everything.

She wrapped her coat around her tightly before picking up her bags. Damian had texted her that he was waiting outside for Marinette. She took several deep breaths before leaving her apartment. She carefully locked the door before running down the stairs. Marinette’s bright blue eyes were sparkling as she spotted Damian’s car. She rushed over, ignoring the snow as it fell around her.

“Hello, Malāki,” a dark haired man said with a grin.

His jade eyes sparkled with amusement as she put her bags in the back and settled into her seat. He leaned over to kiss Marinette on the cheek as she buckled up. He then asked her if she was prepared for Christmas with his family.

“I have everything I need! I made presents for everyone, including Alfred! I just really hope they like them…” Marinette stressed.

“Malāki, I guarantee that they will love them,” Damian replied. “Grayson will probably cry once he realizes it’s a handmade gift.”

Marinette laughed at that, looking outside the window. She began to space out, thinking about how different Gotham looked as compared to Paris. She was uncertain if she’d ever actually seen this much snow before. It was beautiful as it fell to the ground. The different businesses with their Christmas lights and displays were also beautiful and eye catching. She had found herself loving the Christmas displays around Gotham. 

She was thankful that she’d decided to go to Gotham University for college. She couldn’t remember the last time she smiled this much. Marinette hadn’t been this happy since...well since before Hawkmoth. For the first time in a long time she was surrounded by people who trusted and loved her. Damian had been nothing but a gentleman since they met, and he had brought back the fun in her life. She had thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and his family. While she missed her parents back in Paris, Marinette was happy she’d left France.

“What are you thinking so intently about, Marinette?” Damian asked her, breaking her from her trance.

“...I’m just happy to be here...to spend Christmas with you...a lot has happened this year,” she answered truthfully.

Damian smiled broadly and glanced at her for a moment before responding.

“I’m glad. There’s no one else I’d want to spend Christmas with.”

All at once, Marinette was no longer worried about the presents.

How could she, when she realized she was spending Christmas with her newfound family?


	26. Chapter 26: Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian loved Marinette and everything she'd given him.

Damian couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

If one had told him when he was a child that he would be happily married to the world’s kindest woman, Damian would have laughed in their face before stabbing them. There would have been no way that Damian al Guhl, heir to the League of Assassins, would have believed that he would have any semblance of a regular life. His grandfather’s marriage to his grandmother had not been remotely traditional or average, seeing as both were ruthless assassins. Damian was fairly certain the only reason they were together was to keep track of one another.

Add in the fact that his kind wife was heavily pregnant?

Damian al Guhl would have never believed things such as that were possible for someone like him.

As angry as he was about Talia leaving him with Bruce, he had to thank his father. Had it not been for Bruce, Damian would still be that ruthless person who believed love made you weak. He’d grown much from the angry ten-year old boy he used to be. He’d learned so much about life and love from Bruce, Uncle Clark, Aunt Diana, and the others around him.

Damian couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by love as he watched his pregnant wife napping in their bed. Marinette’s dark hair was every which way, and her closed eyes had dark bags under them. Her face was slack with sleep despite the tight grip she clearly had on the body pillow. He didn’t dare wake her, knowing that the closer their baby’s due date crept, the harder it was for Marinette to sleep.

He slowly climbed into bed before brushing his wife’s hair out of her face. He looked down at her swollen belly, still in awe of her. Marinette was truly the world’s most amazing woman. Not only had she managed to put up with Damian’s attitude, but now she was giving him the biggest blessing she could have. In just two more months, Marinette would give him a daughter. They would have a daughter, a tiny baby girl of their own, and Damian was both terrified and elated.

Damian hoped their daughter would be like her mother. Marinette was the kindest person he’d had the privilege of meeting. She was honest, and she always did her best to help others. She had become the superheroine known as Ladybug at only thirteen. She had only become a superheroine to protect her loved ones. She wanted no fame, no glory, no reward. She had only wanted her loved ones to be safe. 

She had shown compassion and courage when facing every new mission after defeating Hawkmoth. Diana had loved Marinette instantly (something about her being the Amazon’s sister because apparently Hippolyta had once wielded the ladybug miraculous?) and had taken the girl under her wing to train. Marinette had taken everything in stride and tried her best to be a good hero.

They hadn’t gotten off to a great start, but Marinette had been determined to prove Damian wrong. Through that, Damian had grown close to the enigma that had been Ladybug. Batman had even begun pairing them on missions and patrols. More they worked together, the closer they had grown. Soon, Damian was choosing to accompany Lady Luck on her missions.

Then he’d gotten to know her as Marinette, which was the icing on the cake. She was almost everything Damian wasn’t, but was still so strong. They had begun dating before revealing their secret identities to each other. When it had happened, Damian had picked her up and swung her around, exclaiming that of course she was Ladybug. He had told her that only Marinette was worthy of being Ladybug.

They had been married a few years later, and now she was pregnant. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He smiled down at Marinette before kissing her forehead softly. Marinette made a few quiet grumbles before opening those grey eyes he loved so much.

“Dami, you’re home,” she said with a yawn. “Come cuddle me.”

“Yes, dear,” Damian responded. “How are my two favorite girls?”

“Well I’m tired, and your daughter won’t stop moving around,” Marinette groaned, struggling to sit up.

Damian laughed before gently helping his wife sit up. He situated the pillows behind her so she would be comfortable before letting her rest against him. He gently kissed her forehead before placing one hand on her womb. He felt his daughter kick against his hand before whispering, “Hey there, sweetpea, stop moving around so much. Your maman would like to be able to sleep longer.”

As he continued to talk to his daughter, he could hear Marinette giggling quietly. However, nothing could be better to Damian than this moment. He felt content sitting quietly with his wife in their bed, cuddling while he spoke to their unborn daughter. He loved his daughter. He loved his wife.

There was no good or evil in this moment. There were no capes, masks, or secret identities. It was just him, his wife, and their soon-to-be child. It was just his family, sitting together in their home. He was just a husband who was enjoying time with his wife. He had nowhere else to be and no one to save. He was just Damian. She was just Marinette. They were in love and starting a family.

Damian couldn’t imagine his life without them now. Everything was perfect.


	27. Day 27: Hibernation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally catching up! Marinette gets left out in the cold, and things aren't great.

Marinette was so tired.

There was one major drawback she had found to wielding the ladybug miraculous.

The drawback?

Marinette couldn’t stand the cold.

Every time she was out in cold weather, she was forced to bundle up, lest she start falling asleep. It made a little sense, as Tikki was ladybug-esque despite being a tiny God. Ladybugs hibernate when the weather gets cold, and Marinette had wielded Tikki’s miraculous long enough for her to suffer side effects. Marinette now wanted to hibernate the second the temperature began to drop.

Which meant that Marinette being trapped out in the cold wasn’t the optimal situation for her to be in.

Lila had tricked Ms. Bustier into leaving the art museum early. She had also managed to ensure that Marinette would be left behind...and without her coat. Marinette could only be thankful that her money, Tikki, and other belongings were in her small pink purse, which she kept on her at all times. She wasn’t entirely sure how Lila had gotten a hold of Marinette’s coat, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

The longer Marinette was out, the worse her odds would be. She was already losing feeling in her arms and legs. Luckily, she had a friend in Gotham who would be able to help her. His name was Damian Wayne, youngest son of the billionaire Bruce Wayne...who just so happened to be one of her uncle Jagged’s best childhood friends. They’d started talking to one another after Bruce mentioned to Jagged that Damian needed more friends his age.

Things had started off rough, but Marinette was able to win him over in the end. She had been patient with him after talking with Penny. Penny had reminded Marinette that perhaps Damian wasn’t sure yet if she could be trusted. After all, lots of people wanted to be friends with someone famous just so they could get something for themselves. Perhaps Damian needed to be shown that Marinette wasn’t one of those people who were trying to climb the social ladder by befriending someone as powerful as a Wayne. 

Once Marinette had proven that she could make her own name for herself (thank you very much!), Damian had warmed up to her. They had been chatting with each other quite regularly, and when they had video calls, Damian had even begun introducing her to his relatives as ‘his best friend Marinette’. She knew Damian would come for her. She just hoped he could get there soon.

Shivering, she clicked his contact and waited for him to pick up.

“...Marinette? Marinette? Mari, are you there?”

“...Da-Da-Da-Dami? I need...Dami...I need...I need help…”

“Mari? Mari, where are you? What’s wrong?” she head Damian’s worried voice over the line.

“...they...they...left me...left me...so cold…”

Marinette could vaguely hear Damian’s frantic voice on the other line as she huddled on the staircase to the museum. She could feel her body going slack as she began to struggle against falling asleep. Marinette was losing her fight to stay awake when she noticed a large figure walking towards her. She tried to move away from him, but found herself unable to. 

The last thing Marinette saw was the figure holding something out to her.

—————————————————

Damian was frantic as he and his father raced down to Gotham PD’s headquarters.

Marinette had called him about fifteen minutes ago, saying she needed help. Damian wasn’t able to get any information until a male voice began talking over her phone. Someone else had found Marinette on the steps of the Gotham Art Museum, no coat, and nearly passed out. He told them that he wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting out on those steps, but she was freezing.

The voice than told Damian that he was taking her down to the Gotham Police Station Headquarters where she would be safe until someone came to claim her. Damian had then barged into his father’s office, demanding that he take him to the police department immediately. His father had been angry with him until Damian told Bruce Marinette was in trouble. 

Bruce went quiet before putting on a serious face that one rarely saw on Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy philanthropist. Bruce then asked his business partners to excuse him for a moment. He explained that the niece of a dear friend of his was in trouble before telling Damian to grab his coat.

Bruce had barely managed to restrain Damian as they arrived at the headquarters. He could tell his son wanted to bolt into the station as soon as he could see it, but he waited for his father. Bruce had walked in first, asking to speak to Commissioner Gordon. Once Jim Gordon had arrived, Damian’s patience finally wore out.

“Where’s Marinette! Someone used her cell phone and told me she was here!” he snapped, frustrated and worried about his friend.

“Well, what do ya know? I owe Montoya five bucks,” a voice rang out. “That little girl really does know the Waynes.”

Damian looked over to see the large figure of one Detective Harvey Bullock. The dark haired man was eating a donut while sitting at his desk. That wasn’t unusual, but what was unusual was the fact that Bullock was not wearing his blue trench coat. Normally the detective never went anywhere without his blue coat. The man crossed his arms before looking Bruce in the eye before saying, “So, you’re leaving underage little girls to freeze on museum stairs now are you, Wayne?”

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng is here on a field trip from Paris, France,” Bruce said with a serious expression on his face. “I sponsored the trip, but she’d supposed to be with her class. Her teacher told me they were visiting the art museum today.”

“So her teacher left her behind?” Commissioner Gordon asked, her brow furrowing in worry. “Should we be putting a police detail on this class? If her parents press charges, it’s going to be a nightmare.”

“Honestly, I think that would be a good idea, Commissioner,” Bruce responded. “If Marinette’s teacher really left her behind, then that woman shouldn’t be trusted with children. Who knows what else might happen?”

“Enough talking! Where is Marinette?” Damian snapped at the adults in the room. “Is she alright? What happened to her? She called saying she needed help, so what happened?”

Commissioner Gordon gave Damian a half-hearted smile before gesturing for him to follow. He looked at a dark haired Hispanic woman and asked her to fill in Mr. Wayne on what they knew. Damian followed the commissioner towards his office where the lights were out. The commissioner opened the door, and Damian felt relief wash over him.

Laying on the commissioner’s couch was Marinette. She was fast asleep, wrapped up tightly in what Damian realized was Detective Bullock’s coat. Her face was paler than normal which worried Damian greatly, but she didn’t appear to be in any great distress. Damian looked up at Jim Gordon, his expression demanding a response. Jim had laughed at him before explaining what had happened.

“Bullock was making his rounds when he spotted her on the stairs to the museum. He noticed her head was bobbing back and forth and went to see if she was okay. She slumped over, and Bullock ran over to her. He noticed she was shivering pretty hard, so he wrapped her up in his coat. He must have spoken to you on her cell phone and brought her back here. We called a doctor to check up on her,” Gordon explained. “She’s just tired and cold, so she should be okay once she warms up.”

Damian felt every ounce of tension leave his body. He walked over to the couch before sitting quietly next to Marinette. He thought something horrible had happened to Marinette. Not that anyone else knew, but being the son of Batman, Damian knew all the horrible things that could happen to a person in Gotham. He had feared the worst when she hadn’t responded to him. He was even more horrified to hear the male voice over the phone. Now that he thought about it, he realized that it was Bullock talking to him. He’d been too worried at the time to think about who was talking to him. 

He gently brushed some of Marinette’s hair out of her face, looking down at his friend with an obvious fondness. She had quickly become the most important thing in his life, and Damian hadn’t realized how terrified he was of losing her. Marinette was a sweet girl and a brilliant friend. He found himself enjoying their pen pal relationship. He found her funny, smart, and a rather enjoyable person to be around. She was honest and straightforward with him. She’d proved that she wasn’t trying to be his friend for fame, and Damian had grown to treasure her. 

Lately he’d found himself...thinking about Marinette. He wondered what it would be like to hold her hand...to kiss her lips...to hold her tight while they spent time together. He’d never been terribly interested in dating anyone before, so he’d been terribly uncertain of what exactly he was feeling towards Marinette. It wasn’t until he’d spoken with Dick that things began to fall into place. He had a crush on Marinette. He wanted to date Marinette but was also afraid of ruining their friendship.

Then, Damian had thought he’d lost her for good to Gotham.

Damian’s attention was pulled away from his brooding by a soft moan. He looked down to see Marinette’s eyes opening slowly. She was still shivering a little bit as she struggled to lift her head up.

“...Da-Da-Dami?”

“Hey, Nettie,” Damian responded quietly. “How are you feeling?”

“B-B-Bustier...the cl-class...they...they left me,” she whimpered. “...so cold...cold...Lila...she-she to-ok my jacket…Dami...so cold...”

Damian swore to God that he was going to impale the lying bitch, regardless of what Bruce said about killing.

But he could think about that later.

Damian carefully pulled Marinette into his arms, wincing at how cold she was. He watched as her shivering began to die down. She snuggled into his arms, attempting to get closer to the warmth near her. She wanted to be warm. She needed to be warm. Marinette yawned again before slipping back into sleep’s grip.

Damian was here now. Damian would fix things...so Marinette focused on hibernating to conserve her remaining energy. Damian would keep her safe.


	28. Day 28:Childhood Friends AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is late and has a kind of crappy ending. It was turning into it's own fic, and I had to stop myself. I may revisit this later.

Bruce shouldn't have been surprised.

He faced psychotic clowns, a man who liked to dress up as a goddamn scarecrow, and that barely scratched the surface of FUCKED up things he'd seen. As Batman, Bruce had thought he'd seen everything life could throw at him. Life, however, seemed determined to prove Bruce wrong at every opportunity it got. 

Dick had been gone for nearly four months. That wasn't entirely unusual, but this time, he'd taken Jason with him. Both of his boys had been gone for four months with complete radio silence. No one knew where they were. Not Dick's associates, not the other League members, and most disturbingly, not even Alfred knew where they had gone. 

It wasn't until a dark, snowy day in March that Bruce saw either of his children again.

Jason had come running into the cave, half feral, screaming for Alfred to help Dick. Dick had followed him shortly after, leaning on one Roy Harper and one Wally West for support. Both were extremely confused and worried, demanding to know why he and Jason had dropped off the face of the Earth without a word. 

Dick had a collapsed lung, several broken bones, a severe concussion, and open wounds over most of his body. The young man was barely conscious, and that scared Bruce. He called Leslie, and the good doctor came to aid them. While she was busy tending to Dick, Bruce turned his attention to his other little boy. 

Jason seemed to have fared better than Dick, though Bruce could almost guarantee that was because Dick had put himself in harm's way to protect the younger boy. He had many lacerations that would need stitched and bandaged. Jason's ankle was either sprained or broken, and he seemed to be covered in bruises. 

Jason was also doing something he hadn't since first coming to live with him, and Bruce was frightened by it. 

The eleven year old boy had huddled himself into the smallest corner he could manage. He was shaking terribly, appearing to be trying to shield something from their sight. Jason wouldn't even let Roy or Wally touch him, which was odd. The younger boy loved his older brother's best friends, so why was Jason acting like this?

It wasn't until the cry of a baby rang out that Bruce had his answer. 

God bless Alfred Pennyworth as he was the one to finally talk Jason down from his feral state. He spoke calmly to Jason, and waited for the child to come out of the corner. He had then asked the eleven year old what he had in his arms.

Jason had hesitantly looked around before Alfred reminded him that they loved him and was safe with them. Jason uncurled to reveal a small baby. The baby in Jason's arms had thick black hair, a darker complexion than any of them in the cave, and a terribly familiar face to Alfred.

After all, Alfred was the only one present who had seen Bruce as a baby…

"Master Jason…where did you get the baby?" the butler asked him quietly. 

Jason seemed to bristle at that, snarling that they weren't taking Damian from him. He went on to say that if B didn't want him, then Jason and Dick would raise their baby brother all by themselves. Those words made everyone pause, staring in shock at Jason and the tiny thing in his arms. 

Bruce waited for Jason to settle down before asking him to explain what had happened. In the end, Bruce almost wished he hadn't asked. So that's what Talia had been after when she drugged him…

He had a son. 

That news hit him like a freight train. 

He had a biological son. He had a biological son with an insane assassin who probably had wanted to raise the child to be a weapon. He had a biological son who had somehow been discovered by his older adopted brothers before his own father. He had a biological son whose older adopted brothers had risked life and limb facing trained assassins to bring him home. He had a biological son, who at this very moment, was cradled protectively against his second eldest child's chest.

Bruce was seriously beginning to rethink his no killing rule as he thought about his sons. 

His eldest, Richard, the child who no longer spoke to him. The child who had been just as hurt and lost as Bruce had been. The child who had been his crime fighting partner until he grew into his own man. The child who Bruce was immensely proud of despite every argument he'd ever had with the young man. That child was currently under Leslie's knife, fighting for his life after fighting valiantly for his brothers lives. 

Jason, his angry child, his second eldest, who struggled to contain his temper. The child who was as fiercely loving as he was temperamental. The child who had the gall to jack the Batmobile's tires in order to survive. The child who had seen far more than Dick and Bruce had before becoming crime fighters. The child who was still prepared to die should he need to to protect his family…his family currently being the baby in his arms. 

And the baby. 

The baby Bruce had no idea existed. The baby who was still innocent despite the sins of his parents. The baby who seemed to have wriggled firmly into his adopted brothers' hearts. The baby who rested peacefully against Jason's chest, trusting that the older boy would protect him. The baby that was his biological son who could have easily been raised to train and kill like his mother.

Bruce fought back the intense rage he felt by focusing on Jason and the baby. 

"So, Jaylad…you said his name was Damian?'

That got Jason to give them a watery smile before he proudly introduced the baby as Damian Wayne— his and Dick's new baby brother.

————————— 

Bruce would be the first to admit he had no idea what to do with a baby. 

As much as he loved Damian, Bruce was still struggling to not only figure out how to take care of him, but how to deal with the trauma of what Talia had done to him.

His only salvation was that he and Dick had mostly made up. They still weren't 100% okay, but Dick had told him under no uncertain terms that Damian was his baby brother, and he would do anything to ensure his safety. Jason was also surprisingly helpful and knew more about childcare than either Bruce or Dick. Jason had explained that he'd helped moms on the streets before being adopted by Bruce. Moms were almost always kind to other children and would occasionally share what they had with him.

It still wasn't enough as Bruce wasn't comfortable sharing how Damian came to be with his sons. They were still young and his children…they shouldn't have to deal with Bruce's trauma. 

His salvation came from a very unlikely place and from very unlikely people. 

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng, a married couple who had moved to Gotham from Paris. Tom had explained that he and his father had had a nasty falling out, and Tom couldn't afford to start a new bakery in Paris. Apparently, Tom's father had taken the family bakery and kicked him out. His mother, who turned out to be an old friend of Alfred's, had helped them fund their move to Gotham. 

Bruce had stumbled into their shop with Damian while trying to escape the press. The small Chinese woman at the counter must have realized how close he was to breaking down and crying along with his baby son because she immediately moved to comfort him. She had introduced herself as Sabine Cheng as she led him to a table where Bruce could sit. She also must have realized how stressed he was because she asked if she could hold his son for him. 

Without thinking, having not slept in a few days, handed Damian over to the kind eyed woman. 

Bruce swore to this day that Sabine was magic, because the second Damian was in her arms, the little boy ceased his wailing. He gave her a few whines and sniffles, but Sabine just cooed back at him in a gentle and soothing voice. As she gently rocked Damian, Bruce realized that the woman herself was heavily pregnant. He began to panic, asking Sabine if she wanted to sit down or if she wanted him to take Damian back.

This caused Damian to begin fussing again which confused Bruce until Sabine kindly explained it to him. She told him Damian could sense he was tense and anxious, which in turn made him tense and anxious. She told him that he needed to take a few deep breaths, and once he was calm, Damian would calm down too.

That was when it all came tumbling out. 

"I was drugged and raped by a woman who wanted to have my child. I had no idea Damian even existed until about three months ago when my two adopted children found out about him. I don't know what she wanted exactly, but now I have a baby, and as much as I love him, I have no idea what I'm doing. My two elder boys were elementary school aged when I adopted them, and I'm so stressed and confused and I haven't slept."

Sabine, to her credit, had taken the info dump in stride.

Her husband, Tom, had walked out from the back and asked Bruce if he wanted to press charges against that woman. He offered his and his wife's support, and Bruce broke down again. They had offered him his couch to sleep on while they watched Damian. It turned out to be the best sleep he'd had in a long time. 

Sabine had continued to be an unending well of support. Not only had she begun teaching Bruce what she'd been learning in her maternity classes, Sabine had also been helping him manage his relationships with Dick and Jason. She had offered him a compassionate ear to talk to that was also not afraid to tell him when he was the one in the wrong. 

Tom had even bonded with his sons. Jason had been guaranteed a part time job when he became old enough to work at their bakery. Tom, alongside Alfred, had finally convinced Jason to give baking a try. Bruce discovered that Jason's outbursts of anger lessened after he began these lessons. Baking had quickly become an outlet for Jason's growing aggression, and Bruce couldn't have been happier. 

Then Marinette had been born.

She had been almost a full year younger than Damian, being born in October. She had been a  _ tiny _ thing, clearly taking after Sabine in the looks department. She had black hair and the widest grey eyes Bruce had ever seen. She had a cute little button nose, and the most precious smile.

He had fallen in love with her the second he held her, feeling that same rush of paternal affection that he felt for his own sons. Dick and Jason had also been entranced by the little girl. Bruce had felt bad for anyone who would later try to date little Miss Dupain-Cheng. Not only would they have to face Tom, who was no slouch, but Bruce Wayne and his two boys for their little princess's hand.

As Marinette and Damian grew, they had become practically inseparable. They had done everything together, aside from going to the bathroom. Neither had been happy when they had to be separated from the other, and when they often snuck around to see each other when they weren't supposed to. Damian had loudly proclaimed to his brothers that Marinette was his wife, and they couldn't have her. Marinette had always giggled before kissing his cheek and calling Damian her prince. 

Even as they grew out of their toddler days into elementary school, Damian had remained Marinette's best friend. The bullies had never stood a chance against the terrible twosome, especially after Jason had taught both children how to fight. The other kids at school had only bothered them once before learning their lesson. 

Jason had seen Damian and Marinette as his saving graces, so he wanted to ensure that they knew how to protect themselves. 

Jason had discovered that Catherine Todd had not been his biological mother, but a woman named Shelia Haywood. While he had wanted to meet his birth mother, he knew he couldn't up and leave Damian and Marinette. They were too important to Jason, so he'd turned to Sabine for advice. Sabine had managed to work things out with Bruce…only for Jason to discover his mother had been working with the Joker. Had he gone by himself, it was very likely he would have been captured and killed by the psychotic clown. 

He hadn't let go of Damian or Marinette for the next few days, terribly shaken how close to death he'd been. 

Then Damian had turned ten. 

And the Dupain-Chengs had returned to Paris.

While Bruce was happy that Tom had made up with his father, he had admitted to the couple that he would miss them. They had promised to call and remain in contact. Jason had been angry until Tom sat him down and explained to him what was happening. Jason had accepted it, knowing that he would have wanted the chance to make things right with Catherine, step-mother or not. Dick hadn't been angry, but he'd been resigned and sad. Tim and Cassandra, the newest additions to the family, had been saddened, but not as much as the others. Damian, much like Jason, had been angry and confused. All the Wayne children made them swear to call as much as they could. 

Damian and Marinette had cried, holding onto each other tightly in the airport. Neither child had wanted to let go of the other, asking their parents why they couldn’t stay together. Damian had only reluctantly let go of Marinette when Bruce asked him too. They had continued to cry, promising each other that they would call one another as much as possible.

Marinette and Damian had soon become the talk of Gotham's media circus, who had thought the two children were heartbreakingly precious as they said their goodbyes. The pair had parted ways, not knowing that it would be seven long years before they’d see one another again.

———————— 

The newly seventeen year old Damian Wayne would sooner chop off his own hand than admit he was elated to see one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

His best friend had no idea that he and his brothers were currently on their way to pick her up from school. Cass and Bruce had stayed back as Bruce had meetings to attend (and Cass didn't want him patrolling alone). Dick was driving while Jason sang along to the radio. Tim was napping against the door in the backseat with Damian. Damian was holding a necklace that he had bought for Marinette. He’d had a hard time choosing a necklace for her as there were many things he wanted to convey to her.

Damian had kept in close touch with Marinette over the years, and he had come to realize that he had fallen in love with his best friend. Marinette was always the light in the darkness. She was the one who came up with the hail marys that saved the day. She was the one who remained calm and collected when crisis popped up. Marinette was the one who helped him when he was having problems with his brothers or Bruce. She was the one made him smile. She was the one who gave him hope that the world could be a good place. 

He had settled on a north star necklace for Marinette. The beautiful eight pointed silver star was set with diamonds and rested on a delicate silver chain. Damian wanted her to know that she was his guiding light. Every time he felt lost, Damian would call her. They would talk together for hours on end until Damian felt better. Despite having her own issues, Marinette had always been there for him.

He desperately wanted to be there for her now.

Damian grew impatient as they parked out front of Marinette’s school. Dick was the first one to climb out of the car, clapping his hands together loudly.

“Okay, listen up! Aunt Sabine called the school and told them we'd be picking her up, but I still have to go to administration to make sure someone knows we have permission and aren't kidnapping her. Jaybird, you, Timmy and little D can head towards her classroom. Text me if you have any problems with her teacher. From what Sabine told me, she's very nice but not terribly good at her job," he said, opening Tim's door gently. 

Tim jolted awake before looking around to see Jason and Damian snickering at him. He rolled his eyes before getting out of the car. He walked over to Jason and Damian, reassuring Dick several times that he had a copy of the note giving Sabine's permission to pick up Marinette.

Once Dick's overprotective big brother instincts had been taken care of, the Wayne boys split up. 

Tim honestly couldn't remember seeing Jason or Damian in a better mood. Jason, in his six-foot, muscular, imposing glory, was smiling like a child. He was nearly bouncing in place, clearly ecstatic to be able to see his little Cakepop again. He hadn't stopped talking about the excursion to Paris once it had been finalized. 

Damian wasn't as verbal about it, but Tim could tell he was also very happy. He wasn't as serious as he usually was. He smiled more. His mood had lifted, and he was more willing to socialize with the rest of the family, much like he had when Marinette still lived in Gotham. 

Tim was honestly excited as well. He hadn't known Marinette as well as his brothers, but he knew she was a big reason they'd taken to him so well. She had been the one to defend his presence in the manor, despite being a little girl, she'd made it very clear that Bruce wasn't trying to replace anyone. Marinette had seen how lonely and sad Tim was, and she had done her best to help him feel like he belonged. 

It would be good to see her again. 

Then Jason's smile fell from his face.

————————— 

Marinette had been having a rough wee— who was she kidding? The past few years had been rough. Ever since Lila Rossi joined their class, the girl had done her best to make Marinette miserable. Lila lied to everyone constantly, invaded people's personal space, and stole others' property. 

Yet, everyone in her class seemed to love Lila...aside from her friend, Chloe.

Chloe Bourgeois had not always been Marinette's friend. When Marinette first arrived, it was very clear that neither girl could stand the other. They fought almost constantly. Chloe would try to bully her, and Marinette would refuse to be pushed around. Then Marinette had found the girl sobbing in the bathroom because her mother had told her she wasn't coming home for Christmas.

So, Marinette had been the bigger girl and invited Chloe to hang out with her. She learned just how terrible of a mother Audrey Bourgeois was. She also had the realization that Chloe was only mean to her because she was lonely and jealous of Marinette's parents. Marinette then did the only logical thing— she kept inviting Chloe over to her place so she wasn't alone. 

At first her parents had been confused, but once Marinette had explained things, Tom and Sabine welcomed Chloe into their bakery. Marinette soon became one of Chloe's best friends. Which had worked out better for her in the end because Chloe was the only one who trusted Marinette now.

Chloe was now the one who held onto Marinette's assignments, projects, and sketchbooks. Lila didn't go after Chloe much, and both girls suspected it was due to Chloe's father being the mayor of Paris. He did everything in his power to make his daughter happy, and if Lila messed with her, she'd get in over her head. 

However, not being able to steal or destroy Marinette's property hadn't deterred Lila in the slightest. 

The brunette Italian had turned to making up stories about how Marinette had threatened and/or hurt her. Lila cried about how Marinette was bullying her, and soon most of the class was on the liar's side. The friends she'd known since she was ten years old turned their backs on her…and that hurt more than Marinette could say. That wasn't even the icing on the metaphorical cake. 

All this drama?

It was caused by a boy she didn't even  _ like _ .

Well, one she didn't like romantically. 

Adrien Agreste, a literal child in a teenager's body, was one of Chloe's oldest friends. However, he'd been homeschooled for most of his life, and he'd finally been allowed to attend public school almost two years ago. Chloe knew about Damian, so she didn't feel threatened by introducing Marinette to Adrien. The trio had gotten along well… until Gabriel Agreste stepped in. 

Gabriel was forcing Adrien to play nice with an obviously infatuated Lila for reasons unknown.

Adrien had been forced to sit on the sidelines and watch his best friends fight for themselves.

Today was no different. Marinette had asked Chloe for her sketchbook so she could work on a commission when it was wretched from her hands by Kim. The class had started tossing it around until they heard a growl that sent a spike of spike of fear down their spines…except for Marinette.

"What the actual  **fuck** do you think you're doing to Cakepop?" a dangerously low voice asked.

The speaker was a tall man with pitch black hair and furious green eyes. He was muscular, wearing a deep red tee-shirt and dark jeans. He strode over to them, flanked by two other boys, not quite as tall, but strikingly similar. 

The second boy had slightly longer black hair with stormy blue eyes. He had his cell phone out and pointed in their direction. He was leaner than either of the two standing beside him, but he looked fit as well. 

The third boy had skin darker than the other two. His black hair was spiked with his green eyes narrowed in a similar manner to the tallest man. He was being held back by the blue eyed boy who was holding the phone. 

The man snatched the sketchbook from Ivan's hands before Marinette fully processed what was going on. She stared at the man for a moment before feeling a wave of pure elation wash over her. She smiled broadly as she realized just who the tall man was.

“JASON?!” Marinette squealed, shoving her way through her classmates. “Then that means— Tim! Damian! When did you guys get here?!”

“Hey there, Cakepop!” Jason said brightly, his face changing into a smile. “I think I’ve got something of yours.”

Marinette took her sketchbook from Jason before hugging him tightly. She felt his strong arms wrap around her as he playfully ruffled her hair. She looked over to see Damian glaring at his brother before he stomped over and pulled Marinette out of Jason’s arms.

“Don’t hog Marinette, Jason!” Damian said, pulling the tiny girl into a hug.

Tim scoffed before saying, “Like you’re not going to hog her, Damian? All you could talk about on the way here was how you couldn’t wait to see Marinette.”

Jason wore a shit-eating grin as he said, “Yeah Damian, didn’t you used to say that Marinette was going to be your wife—”

“SHUT UP, JASON!” Damian shouted, his eyes darting down at Marinette in panic.

“Um...excuse me?” a curious voice broke in.

The Waynes turned their attention back to the other children in the class. A brunette girl with amber eyes and glasses was staring at them.

“...who are you people? And how do you know Marinette?” she asked. “You really shouldn’t pal around with Marinette. She’s a real bully.”

Jason saw how Marinette wilted slightly at that before glaring daggers at the girl.

“Cakepop? A bully? Yeah, and I’m the motherfuckin’ Batman,” Jason replied scathingly. 

Another girl, with acidic green eyes and long brown hair that oddly looked like sausages, started to tear up as she looked up at Jason. Her lower lip wobbled pathetically as she tried to garner sympathy from them, but Marinette could tell they weren’t buying it. Tim stepped forward, still holding his phone.

“You still didn’t tell us what you were doing with Marinette’s sketchbook,” he said. “Nor why you are calling Marinette a bully.”

“She bullies Lila all the time!” the girl in the glasses said. “She’s pushed her down the stairs, broken her wrist, given her a concussion, not to mention all the name calling and stealing her work!”

“We were giving her a taste of her own medicine!” a tall boy with blonde tipped hair said. “She ruined Lila’s sketchbook, so we’re going to ruin hers!”

“Do you have any proof that Marinette did any of this?” Tim asked. “Miss Lila—?”

“Rossi,” sausage hair practically purred. “Marinette destroyed all my proof!”

“Marinette destroyed your medical records?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Wha-what?” Lila asked in surprise.

“You said that Marinette destroyed all your proof, but if you’d gone to see a medical professional, your medical records should be able to be accessed, giving you proof. You did go to a doctor, didn’t you?”

Lila looked stunned as Tim continued to grill the class for any information she had. Marinette watched in glee as Tim tore through every single excuse and lie Lila threw at him. He continued to insult the class’s intelligence as well as Lila’s. Marinette could tell Tim was taking immense joy in watching Lila flounder about, trying to prop up her house of lies.

The class began to chatter and fly into chaos as Chloe walked over to them.

“So, you must be the Waynes? Minette has told me a lot about you,” the blonde said with a grin. “Tim Wayne, correct?”

“Chloe Bourgeois,” Tim greeted. “Nice to meet Marinette’s best Parisian friend.”

“So that means the tall guy is Jason Wayne, and the one hugging Minette is Damian,” Chloe hummed.

Damian glared at the blonde and Marinette’s other classmates. This room was too loud! These kids were too stupid, and his brothers were being annoying! He couldn’t give Marinette her gift in this environment, so he pulled her out of the classroom silently as Jason and Chloe began to help Tim tear Lila’s house of lies apart and savoured the class’s realization that these were the kids of the Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises.

Marinette looked at Damian in shock and awe. She couldn’t believe how much Damian had grown! Sure, she saw him over a video screen, but that wasn’t the same. Damian had gotten taller and broader, favoring his father’s build now that he’d gone through puberty. He still had that same impish look in his eyes though and the wild smile that Marinette associated with her best friend. He also looked extremely nervous which made Marinette a little worried. He surely didn’t believe Lila...right?

“...Damian…” she said hesitantly, feeling her own anxiety claw at her throat.

“Marinette...look...there’s-there’s something I have to ask you,” Damian said, rubbing his hands on his pants. “I know we’ve really only been able to talk online, but you’re my best friend—”

“You’re my best friend too, Dami,” Marinette replied quietly, tilting her head. “...what do you want to ask?”

Damian swallowed and took a deep breath before pulling the necklace box out of his pocket. He handed it to Marinette, and she gasped as soon as she opened it. It was the most beautiful necklace she’d ever seen! It must have cost a lot of money! Why did he—?

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would you give me the honor of taking you on a date?” Damian asked. 

Marinette looked him in the eye before throwing her arms around him. She hugged him tightly while whispering yes over and over into his shoulder. Damian hugged her back before asking if she’d like help putting on the necklace. Marinette nodded and Damian helped her put it on, not realizing they had company.

Dick was smiling broadly from a few feet away with Ms. Bustier at his side. The eldest of the Wayne children looked to the red headed teacher before saying, “We’ll take her from here. Thank you very much, Ms. Bustier, for your cooperation.”

Dick watched as Damian and Marinette turned bright red before walking past to fetch the other two. He couldn’t be happier for his little brother…

Damian had finally gotten his princess.


	29. Day 29: Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I made this one shorter due to the uhhh, lengthy amount I wrote for the previous prompt.

Damian stood quietly as he stared at his bed.

He had just gotten home from patrol with Jason and Dick. Thankfully that night had been rather quiet with only the common scum committing small scale crimes. He’s stopped several robberies as well as several stalkers. Damian was still exhausted from being out late, and all he wanted to do was fall into bed with his beautiful wife.

Then he noticed that there were two other people occupying his and his wife’s bed.

Marinette was fast asleep, almost on the edge of her side of the bed. His wife’s black hair was everywhere, and he could clearly see the dark bags under her eyes. Their toddler, Seraphiné, was fast asleep next to her mother. Their eldest daughter, Amaya, was asleep next to Seraphiné, hugging onto Damian’s pillow tightly. All three of his beloved girls looked peaceful as they slept, and Damian was loath to wake them. 

His little Amaya wasn’t so little anymore. She was almost eight years old and growing like a weed. It seemed they were always buying the dark haired little girl more clothes because she could no longer wear the ones they’d just bought her. She was attending school now and was becoming an avid explorer. 

She had her mother’s passionate and kind personality, but with Damian’s one-track mind. Amaya was well liked by her teachers and schoolmates, but there had been a few incidents in which the little girl had punched other children. It turned out that she had her mother’s sense of justice and would not tolerate being lied to. She also didn’t like bullies, and Damian really couldn’t fault her for that. He and Marinette explained why it was wrong for her to hit the bullies, but they also had a bad habit of giving her a cookie or something and telling her they were proud of her as well.

And if Amaya was her mother’s daughter, Seraphiné was most definitely her father’s daughter. While she looked like a miniature Marinette, their youngest had one hell of a temperament. She hadn’t been an overly fussy baby, but the child had absolutely no problem telling someone off if she didn’t like what they were doing. Seraphiné had quite the set of lungs on her and was not afraid to use them to her advantage.

Seraphiné was a very serious baby, much like her father had been. She did not find baby talk amusing. She also somehow had managed to perfect Damian’s batglare despite never seeing it. She’d scared the shit out of her great-uncle Clark by glaring at him in that oh too familiar way when he used baby talk with her. That was the last time Clark used baby talk with Seraphiné. Bruce had been so proud of her.

The little toddler was learning quickly, and Damian felt himself morning the loss of her baby fat cheeks. It only served to remind him Seraphiné was two years old, no longer the precious little infant he could hold in one arm. One day, she’d have no baby fat. One day, she’d go to school. One day, she’d be too big for Damian to pick up. The very thought saddened him in ways he couldn’t explain as well as made him very excited.

Though, Damian could say he felt the same about Amaya.

“...Abun? Abun, are you home?” a sleepy voice asked.

Damian smiled softly at Amaya before sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Yes, my little one. It’s Abun. Abun’s going to take a shower, and then he’ll come to bed. Okay?”

Amaya cheered tiredly as she released his pillow.

“Hurry up, Abun. I’m still sleepy."

“Anything you say, Albi.”

While it made him sad to see his little girls growing up before his eyes, Damian couldn’t deny that he loved his girls more than life itself. As much as he’d been terrified about the prospect of children, he was glad that he’d chosen to make a family with Marinette. He couldn’t imagine his life without his two sweet baby girls.

After taking his shower and getting ready for bed, Damian kissed all three of them on the head gently. He tucked himself under the covers and despite knowing he’d more than likely wake up with a foot in his rib or a hand in his face, Damian felt content having all his girls with him. He could better protect them if they were all together, he’d tried reasoning with himself once. He’d given up trying to find the reason.

The only thing that mattered was that Amaya and Seraphiné were his children, and he would die for them.

He hoped that they’d always remember that for as long as they lived.


	30. Day 30: Rival AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina's new kitten has Damian hating his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! For all who stuck with me, thank you!

Damian hated everything. 

The temptress was back, and all his dumbass brothers could do was scream, "hoLY SHIT, IT'S GENETIC!?"

The temptress?

A teenage girl Selina had taken under her wing. Selina had  _ mostly _ been on the up and up, so Bruce had let it slide. At least, that's what he'd told his boys. They all were 99% sure that the only reason Selina was getting away with this was because Bruce was still in love with her.

Damian hadn't understood until he met his own black cat. 

Her name?

Chaton Errant.

The teen was about his age if he had to wager, and she'd clearly been doing this longer than Selina had been watching over her. The way she moved, the confidence, the power, the grace, there was no way in hell she hadn't had practice before joining Selina. She was sharper than she first appeared, and she was relentless in ways Damian could only admire. 

Now if she could stop taking his cases, everything would be perfect. 

The cat-themed vigilante— Hero, he remembered her hissing— seemed to be everywhere Damian was. 

The black haired menace seemed to have memorized  _ his  _ routes. She was always there, either taking care of criminals herself, or jumping in to assist when she wasn't asked. The vagrant/homeless population seemed to trust her almost immediately. It had taken him  _ years _ to build that kind of repertoire with them, and she'd done it practically overnight!

That wasn't even the worst part. 

The worst part was that his rival— Damian thought he had made that clear to everyone, but apparently not— would just smile every time he tried to scold her. Those big, mischievous, grey eyes would look at him fondly while she sing-songed her nickname for him. 

Mon petite oiseau.

My little bird. 

Damian had demanded she stop calling him that, but Chaton had simply smiled at him. As her fangs glittered in the moonlight, the kitty then told him to 'make her'. Damian, at the time, had no problem with those terms. They'd begun to spar, and Damian couldn't remember having a more enjoyable opponent to fight. Chaton had been full of surprises and dirty tricks. 

Then he'd pinned her.

And she'd wrapped her legs around his waist before practically  _ mewing _ at him, "If you wanted me on my back so bad, mon petite oiseau, you could have just asked."

That had startled Damian to the point Chaton was able to slip free of his grip. She had disappeared into the night, but not before telling him that she'd had fun. Chaton had winked at him before using her baton to vault off into the night. 

Leaving Damian where he was now. 

Frustrated, embarrassed, and with new feelings bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. She was just supposed to be his rival! This wasn't supposed to happen! 

And his dumbass brothers weren't helping. At. All.


	31. Day 31: New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks y'all for sticking around!!!!!! I had fun writing these!!!!!

Marinette sat on the balcony, looking out at the stars. She knew that she should head back inside soon, as she was starting to feel sluggish from the cold, but she really didn't want to. She didn't want to be at that party, but for the sake of her brand, she'd gone. 

It was some rich people party that Clara Nightingale had invited her too. The singer had told Marinette that the upper echelon hadn't stopped asking about MCD and her designs. Clara had been commissioning her for the better part of almost three years now for all her gowns, and each had been a spectacular hit. This had been an opportunity to get new clients, and Marinette had been excited at first. 

Until the truth came to light. 

Adrien was still in therapy. He'd revealed himself as Chat Noir, and he'd testified against his father in court. They had found Gabriel Agreste guilty of terrorism, but let Adrien go, seeing as he was Chat Noir. That didn't stop some from looking at him with suspicion, but Marinette had done her best to protect her kitty. 

She'd made numerous statements as Ladybug, reassuring Parisians that Adrien hadn't been apart of his father's crimes. That didn't stop everyone from doubting him though, and add in the fact that he'd just lost both his parents and a guardian-figure, and her chaton was a mess. 

Marinette hadn't spoken to him in what would be, at midnight, a whole year. She missed her partner, even if her crush had died over the years. He was still her best friend, and she'd continued sending him cards over the months. She hoped he'd respond soon. 

People had been asking her about Adrien for the entire night, knowing that she'd been in his class. Marinette had had to remove herself before she punched some rich Gotham socialite in the jaw for mouthing off about something they had  _ no clue about _ . She had excused herself, claiming to feel faint due to the warmth of the room. A few had pretended to be concerned about her, but Marinette had easily disentangled herself from them. Who knew Lila would teach her something useful?

She gazed down at her watch, noting it was almost 11:30.

A half an hour...half an hour until the anniversary of one of the worst days in her life. 

The dark haired woman felt a shiver travel up her spine as the wind blew. Her blue eyes drooped as she gazed forlornly at the sky. Would things ever be okay again?

She felt a weight drop on her shoulders, warmth surrounding her in a comforting manner. Marinette looked up to see a handsome young man looking down at her with a stern expression. However, despite the seriousness in his body language, Marinette could see the worry in his eyes. She slowly realized that he'd draped his coat over her. She touched the coat, humming thoughtfully. 

It was a thick wool coat, obviously expensive. One of the fellow party-goers?

"I'm sorry."

Marinette raised her eyebrow at that, looking at the handsome man in surprise. 

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked quietly. 

"Because on the occasion, we Gothamites like to play the Oppression Olympics, and we pretend that no one else can possibly have problems as bad as ours," the green- eyed man responded honestly. "But often the upper class forget that problems are relative, and they begin to speak of matters they have no right too."

He…he was apologizing for the other party-goers?

"I can't imagine what it must have been like," he continued. "Not being able to feel anything negative. Feeling like a hostage in your own home because you're afraid of a supervillain using you to hurt your friends and family. I'm very sorry that they made light of that." 

"Thank you, Monsieur—" Marinette responded quietly. 

"Damian, just call me Damian. Why don't we head back inside, Miss—"

"MDC."

"Miss MDC, you look like you're about to pass out, and I'm slightly concerned you have hypothermia," Damian said, holding out his hand. 

Marinette shook her head before locking eyes with him. 

"Midnight will mark one year… one year since…"

Surprisingly, Damian's expression was… understanding. He sat beside her on the balcony instead, awkwardly holding out an arm. He turned his head away from her before telling her she was allowed to use him for comfort or warmth. His cheeks gained a light flush as he did so, keying Marinette into the possibility he didn't do this often. 

Marinette subconsciously moved closer to Damian. Her ladybug instincts screaming at her to find a source of warmth IMMEDIATELY. She noticed that he stiffened for a second before relaxing. She lost track of how long they stayed there, contentedly silent, as if neither wanted to break the spell they'd fallen under. They just watched the stars and the snow fall until bright colors lit up the sky.

"Happy New Year, MDC," Damian said quietly. "I hope this year treats you better than the last."

Marinette hummed for a moment before replying, "Bonne Année, Damian. May this year find you in good spirits."

They stayed out on the balcony together until the fireworks died out, Damian holding Marinette close. Marinette rested her head against Damian's shoulder before closing her eyes for a moment. For three the first time in a few months, Marinette felt at peace.


End file.
